How to Make and Care for a Goji Berry Bonsai? A Detailed Guide to the Latest Methods

The goji berry is one of the eighteen scholars of ancient bonsai, and is also a well-known traditional Chinese medicine for nourishing the liver and kidneys and improving eyesight. Its trunk-style bonsai has an elegant posture, drooping branches, and purple flowers, and in autumn red berries cover the branches, giving an excellent ornamental effect. However, because it is cold-tolerant and drought-tolerant but not waterlogging-tolerant, it is very difficult to grow goji berries in the rainy and flood-prone regions south of the Yangtze River. Now let us take a look at how to make and care for a goji berry bonsai!

Collecting from the Wild

Around the time of Awakening of Insects, when the goji berry has just entered its budding period and before it sprouts, is the most suitable time for digging. In wild wastelands or at the foot of old courtyard walls, thick and vigorous old stumps can be found. After digging them out, they can be potted directly according to the desired shape. Those in good condition can be planted in an ornamental position, while those with poor roots need to be earthed up to help maintain moisture. If conditions permit, they can also be cultivated in the open ground to develop the material, and once the root system has developed well and the branches have grown thick and strong, they can be transplanted into pots. Proper raising of the roots can create an excellent bonsai with gnarled old roots and drooping branches.

Artificial Propagation

1. Sowing: Harvest ripe fruit in November, soak it in water for 1-2 days, and once it has softened, rub and wash it clean to obtain the seeds, then dry and store them. Sow between March and April of the following year, either in drills or in beds, covering with about 1-1.5 cm of soil, water thoroughly, and they will sprout and emerge after 10 days. After the seedlings emerge, thin them once and apply general management. Transplant the seedlings in the spring of the second year.

2. Cuttings: For cutting propagation, use one-year-old vigorous branches as cuttings before spring sprouting, or use current-year soft branches during the plum rain season. The cuttings should be 12-15 cm long, inserted at an angle into the seedbed, watered frequently, and kept moist; the survival rate can reach over 95%.

3. Division: Division and transplanting are mostly carried out in early to mid-March to April. After digging up the clustered plants, cut off most of the branches, divide and plant them, water immediately, and keep the soil moist regularly. They root very easily and can flower and bear fruit in the same year.

Potting Process

1. Choosing a pot: For goji berries, a slightly deep glazed ceramic pot is suitable, and a purple clay pot can also be used. The shape depends on the tree style: for a cascade style, a tall cylindrical pot is suitable, while for general curved-trunk and raised-root styles, medium-deep rectangular, round, or oval pots are mostly used.

2. Soil: Goji berries are not demanding about soil and prefer well-drained sandy loam. For potting, humus soil or garden soil mixed with sandy soil can be used.

3. Planting: Spring is the most suitable time, while other seasons are slightly less ideal. Before planting, carry out one shaping and pruning, make the cut surfaces smooth, and shorten overly long roots. Press the soil down firmly, but it must not be too hard or have gaps. No base fertilizer is needed at the bottom of the pot.

4. Management: Place the potted goji berry in a wind-sheltered spot with diffused light, and mist it frequently to maintain moisture, gradually reducing this after it sprouts.

Shaping the Tree

1. Training: The main branches of the goji berry can be appropriately wired and pruned. Large branches are best wired and pruned in winter, while small branches can be wired in summer and autumn. New branches can be wired at any time with suitable iron, lead, copper, or other metal wire. Goji berry wood is relatively brittle, so be careful to use gentle force when working and do not be too rough.

2. Tree form: When making an old-stump goji berry bonsai, it is generally best to create a curved-trunk style or cascade style, while small branches are best trained to droop. Raised-root shaping can create a bridge style. There are also other styles such as figurative, raised-root, multi-trunk, and bizarre styles, but those with a large head and small tail or that are straight and flat are the most uninteresting. In short, shape according to the tree and apply techniques according to the material, repeatedly refining it, and do not rush.

Care and Management

1. Placement: Goji berries should be placed in a spot with plenty of sunlight; if placed in shade, it is unfavorable for flowering and fruiting. In summer, avoid direct sun exposure. In winter it is cold-tolerant and can overwinter outdoors above -10°C.

2. Timely watering: Normally, water according to the principle of seeing dry and seeing wet, following the rule of not watering until dry, and watering thoroughly when you do. During the flowering and fruiting period, pay attention to watering in the right amount to prevent it from becoming too dry or too wet.

3. Reasonable fertilizing: Apply thin fertilizer frequently. In early summer and early autumn, combined with leaf picking, apply one slightly stronger fertilizing each time to encourage new leaves and flower buds. Fertilize appropriately before sprouting and after fruiting to make the fruit larger and the plant strong. Never apply fertilizer that is too strong or fertilize during the flowering period.

4. Timely pruning: Carry out major pruning and shaping every winter and spring. At ordinary times, cut off diseased branches and dense branches at any time to maintain a certain tree shape. Remove suckers promptly.

5. Repotting and changing soil: Do this once every 1-2 years, preferably in early spring. When repotting, remove half of the old soil and replace it with loose culture soil rich in humus; a small amount of base fertilizer can be applied. Cut off dead roots and some overly long old roots. Repotting and changing soil is very important; if repotting is not done for many years, the potting soil will become compacted and drainage poor, which will seriously affect the vigor of the tree.

6. Pest and disease control: The main diseases of goji berries are powdery mildew and black fruit disease, which can be controlled with 0.3-0.5% Bordeaux mixture sulfur lime. In the early stage of the disease, fungicides such as carbendazim, thiophanate-methyl, mancozeb, and triadimefon can be used alternately for control. The main pests are aphids, psyllids, eriophyid mites, and others that eat the leaves; they can be controlled by spraying 90% crystal trichlorfon solution, 50% phoxim emulsifiable concentrate, 40% omethoate, fenpropathrin, and other new insecticides and acaricides, with the key being to master the timing and concentration.