A Detailed Guide to Goji Berry Planting Techniques and Management Methods

The goji berry (Lycium barbarum) is robust in nature and highly adaptable, and it is distributed throughout both northern and southern parts of China. It likes sunlight and a cool climate, tolerates cold and drought, and tolerates alkaline soil; its roots have an extremely strong ability to send up suckers; it fears waterlogging and grows poorly in waterlogged ground, while it grows well in sandy sloping soil with good ventilation and sufficient light. Each year, May to June and September to October are its secondary flowering periods; the fruit is oblong, and after the beginning of autumn it ripens successively until it drops off after January.

The cultivation and management of goji berry is relatively extensive: pruning is carried out in winter, cutting away dead branches, weak branches and the tips of side branches. In winter, apply well-rotted base fertilizer to encourage new branches to sprout the following spring; during the flowering period, apply 1-2 applications of liquid fertilizer based mainly on phosphorus.

After potted goji berry enters dormancy, all long branches can be cut back short, leaving only 2-3 buds, and dense branches and dead branches are all removed, so that the crown is well ventilated and the tree shape is upright, and it is gradually pruned into a certain form to increase its ornamental value.

Experienced growers often take advantage of the characteristic that goji berry can still sprout after leaf removal, stripping the leaves twice each year in early summer and early autumn so that flower buds and leaf buds sprout; the emerald new leaves set off the bright red fruit, making it even more beautiful.

The common disease of goji berry is black fruit disease, which can cause damage from the fruit period in early May to the fruit period at the end of October; if there is high temperature and heavy rain, the disease becomes more severe. You can spray carbendazim or chlorothalonil 1000 times dilution, generally once every 10 days.      The common pest of goji berry is aphids, which damage tender leaves each spring and autumn. During the aphid outbreak period, spray 40% omethoate 1000 times dilution, or 80% dichlorvos emulsion 1500 times dilution for control.

Goji berry is commonly propagated by cuttings and division. Cuttings can be done in both spring and autumn. Choose vigorous one-year-old branches, cut a section 10-15 cm long as the cutting, cut the upper end flat and the base into a horseshoe shape, and insert it obliquely into the seedbed. The bed soil should be kept moist; the survival rate is generally 90%, and it can bloom the following year.

For potted goji berry, wild old branches with crooked trunks are often dug up after leaf fall to serve as material for stump scenes. After digging them up, they should first be buried in soil in a high, well-drained, loose place for maintenance, allowing them to continue sending out new roots.

Once conditions for raising the roots are present, gradually shape them. If a wild old plant is obtained in winter, it can first be maintained indoors, laying the foundation for making a stump bonsai.