[digby]

Hi,

I have a new goji berry bush, its still a baby.  It's currently in a pot on my patio and I was wondering, should I pinch out the top to encourage lower growth as it just seems to  be a long leafy stick at the moment or does it have more of a vine like quality and should I give it a cane to grow up.

Any help gratefully received.

With thanks

D x

[Matthew Gayles]

We received a goji berry plant last year as a present, we put it in a tub and it produced about 8 long spindly leafy shoots. From what I have read goji berry plants like and can take a hard pruning. We attacked our bush this year and it is 18 inches tall now - it is covered in leaves and looks promising. Presumably like other bushes the more you prune the more it flowers? I hope so otherwise Ive knackered me goji berry! good luck!

[New shoot]

It's a fairly lax shrub left to it's own devices and splays out in all directions so some training against canes will help keep it under control.

If you prune back stems you will make the plant more bushy but it's not really in it's nature to be a compact shrub.

Hope that helps.

[hightide]

I am also interested in the Goji and was disappointed by the distinct lack of practical growing instructions sent with the plants. I planted them and tried to grow them similar to bramble/tayberry; the side shoots went wild only produced a few flowers and no fruit. Rather than dig them up I did some research and found that the best way is to grow them as a single cordon supported by a stake. So this winter I took down my post and wires structure and staked my bushes, selected the strongest shoot from each tied it up and trimmed out the basal shoots. The aim is to let the side shoots grow 60cm and hang down, hopefully there will be more flowers and fruit this year.
I did read that feeding is a two part affair; a high nitrogen feed now to promote foliage and a no nitrogen high phosphorus mid summer feed to promote flowers and fruit. The harsh pruning and recent awful weather has not seemed to harm the plants, the shoots are showing lots of buds, which are now breaking into leaf. I am not expecting great results this year due to changing their growing habit, but next year, which will be their fourth should see a good crop.

[digby]

Thats fantastic, thanks everyone, I must admit it hasn't been fed at all yet I should rectify that really.  I think I'll go for the single stake option and prune in the autumn 

It's looking quite healthy but this is the best/only advice I've been able to find on them which is a bit silly really.

[savbo]

I I did some research and found that the best way is to grow them as a single cordon supported by a stake. So this winter I took down my post and wires structure and staked my bushes, selected the strongest shoot from each tied it up and trimmed out the basal shoots. The aim is to let the side shoots grow 60cm and hang down, hopefully there will be more flowers and fruit this year.

that's so useful - I was going to grow them as a hedgy affair (like i've seen them growing on Hilbre Island) so would have been doing exactly the wrong thing! How tall are your stakes?

MS

[hightide]

Salvo, I used some Dahlia stakes (30x30x1800) I bought from B&Q as the plants were already in the ground. The commercial growers train them this way to maximise crops and ease picking; whats good for them etc. Some of my plants have not yet grown up to the top, but when they do they will get trimmed, don't see the point in keeping a ladder there.
     
I think when they are used as a hedge they were probaly being used to prevent a bank from crumbling as the root system is quite intense or maybe the thorns were the feature.