How to grow Goji

Lycium barbarum · goji berry, wolfberry, Chinese wolfberry

Goji (Lycium barbarum) — goji is a hardy deciduous shrub of the tomato family, usually spiny, grown for its small orange-red berries that are eaten fresh, dried, frozen or juiced. Pruned plants stay about 1–2 m tall; left alone they reach about 3.5 m. Purple flowers open from late spring and the berries colour about five weeks after full bloom, but new flowers keep coming, so picking runs from midsummer to the autumn frosts. Goji is self-fertile, so a single plant crops.

Checked against sources: October 3, 2026

Quick facts

Type	Berry
Family	Solanaceae
Light	Full sun
Soil pH	7–8
Frost	tolerates light frost
Soil for sowing	from 4 °C
First harvest after planting	about 2 years
Where it grows	Open ground, At home

When to plant

Planted as a young plant from a nursery while it is dormant — in early spring before the buds open, or in autumn after leaf fall.

Frost dates · When to plant

Care

Open ground

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Growth	every 7 days	—	balanced (NPK), at the start of the stage
Flowering	every 7 days	—	balanced (NPK), at the start of the stage
Fruiting	every 7 days	—	—
Harvest	every 7 days	—	balanced (NPK), at the start of the stage

At home

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Growth	every 3 days	—	potassium, at the start of the stage; potassium, 14 days into the stage; potassium, 28 days into the stage
Flowering	every 3 days	—	potassium, at the start of the stage; potassium, 14 days into the stage
Fruiting	every 3 days	—	potassium, at the start of the stage; potassium, 14 days into the stage
Harvest	every 3 days	—	potassium, at the start of the stage; potassium, 14 days into the stage; potassium, 28 days into the stage

Growing notes

Light

Full sun gives the best crop; light shade is tolerated. The berries are best in hot, dry summers and poorer in cool, humid weather.

Soil

A light, well-drained loam. Goji copes with poor soil, wind and salty coastal air, and with drought once established. It prefers slightly alkaline soil (pH 7–8), does badly in acid soil and suffers where the roots stay wet. Rich soil gives leaves instead of fruit.

Care

Plant in spring, about 2 m apart, and mulch around the base. Water new plants regularly, about 2.5 cm a week; older plants are fairly drought-tolerant, but uneven watering causes blossom-end rot. Feed lightly with a balanced fertiliser at bud break, at flowering and as the berries start to ripen, or just once in spring. Prune lightly while dormant or in early spring, removing weak, dead and crossing shoots, and pinch out the shoot tips in early summer to get more fruiting side branches. From about the third year dig out root suckers. Wear gloves against the spines. On a balcony grow it in a large pot with drainage holes, gritty loam-based compost and a liquid tomato feed every two weeks from spring to late summer. Only fully ripe berries are eaten; the plant belongs to a family with poisonous members, so unripe fruit is best avoided.

How to tell it is ripe

The berries have reached their full orange-red colour, about five weeks after full bloom.
Ripe and unripe berries hang together, because the plant keeps flowering while earlier berries ripen.
Pick only fully coloured berries; unripe ones are not eaten.
A ripe berry still holds on to its stalk and turns black where it is squeezed or bruised.
Pick by hand, pulling each berry slightly sideways rather than straight up so less stalk comes away, or shake ripe berries gently onto a sheet spread under the bush.

Pests and diseases of Goji

Sources

Figures checked against these sources.