At a glance
- The goji berry is marketed as a superfood, but in the garden it is above all one thing: an extremely vigorous, straggly shrub that quickly takes over.
- It drives long runners and root suckers and spreads uncontrolled. Without a root barrier it becomes a problem in the bed.
- It bears late: only after a few years are there notable harvests, and the fresh berries are rather bland-tart than the sweet dried ones from the trade.
- Undemanding it really is: it grows on almost any soil, tolerates drought, heat and salt and is completely hardy.
- Whoever plants it should do so deliberately: as a robust shrub for difficult corners, with a root barrier, not as an easy-care miracle nutrient supplier.
Hardly any plant has been advertised as much in recent years as the goji berry. As a superfood with supposedly unique nutrients, garden catalogues promised the health miracle for your own garden. The reality is more sobering, and that is exactly what this article is about: an honest assessment that distinguishes between marketing and garden reality.
The goji, botanically the common boxthorn, is by no means the easy-care, grateful nibble it is often sold as. It certainly has its place in the garden, but only if you know what you are getting into: a rampant shrub that needs space and control.
Goji berry
Lycium barbarum
- Standort
- full sun, undemanding, tolerates drought and salt
- Saison
- harvest weeks 32 to 40
- Frosthärte
- completely hardy
The disenchantment
Let us begin with the honest truth that marketing likes to conceal. First: the goji is rampant. It is an extremely vigorous, straggly shrub with long, overhanging canes that additionally drives strong root suckers and sends up new shoots all around. In a tidy bed it quickly becomes a nuisance.
Second: it bears late and not lavishly. Only after a few years in place are there notable amounts, and the fresh berries taste rather bland-tart, not like the seemingly sugared dried goji from the trade. Third: the superfood halo is exaggerated. Native berries like sea buckthorn, rose hip or blackcurrant deliver at least as much vitamin C and healthy content, entirely without an exotic label.
Where the goji still makes sense
For all the disenchantment the goji has real strengths that you can use if you deploy it in the right place. Its greatest quality is its robustness.
The real strengths of the goji
- Extremely undemanding
It grows on almost any soil, including poor, sandy and saline ones. Where hardly anything thrives, the goji copes.
- Drought- and heat-proof
As a steppe plant it tolerates drought and heat without trouble and is thus climate-fit for hotter summers.
- Completely hardy
Frost does not bother it. It is reliably hardy even in rough locations.
- Secures slopes
Its strong runners, a problem in the bed, are an advantage on slopes and difficult banks: they secure loose soil.
So whoever has a difficult, poor, dry or saline corner, for instance a bank or a roadside, can use the goji there sensibly, where easy-care robustness is wanted and its spreading does not disturb. In the mixed edible hedge, by contrast, it should stand only with care and a root barrier.
The root barrier is a must
Whoever sets the goji into a tidy bed or hedge cannot avoid a root barrier. Set the plant into a sunken, closed barrier of sturdy liner or a bottomless container, as known from bamboo. Otherwise its runners appear all over the bed after a few years.
To that belongs a regular, bold cut. The goji tolerates and needs it: shorten the long, straggly canes and keep the shrub compact, that also promotes fruit set. Without pruning and a barrier the advertised miracle plant quickly becomes a nuisance that you only laboriously get rid of again.
No easy-care superfood but a robust rampant shrub. Whoever deploys the goji with a root barrier and pruning in a difficult spot uses its strengths without bringing a problem into the garden.
The core idea for the goji
Frequently asked questions
Is the goji berry really a superfood?
The superfood halo is strongly exaggerated. Native berries like sea buckthorn, rose hip and blackcurrant deliver just as much vitamin C and healthy content. Fresh goji also taste rather bland-tart than the sweet dried ones from the trade.
Why does my goji berry spread so strongly?
That is its nature. The goji is an extremely vigorous shrub that forms long canes and strong root suckers and sends up new shoots everywhere. Without a root barrier and regular pruning it spreads uncontrolled.
Does the goji need a root barrier?
In a tidy bed and hedge absolutely. Set it into a sunken, closed root barrier or a bottomless container, otherwise its runners appear all around after a few years. Only on slopes may it grow freely.
When does a goji berry bear fruit?
Only after a few years in place are there notable harvests, mostly weeks 32 to 40. The plant needs time to establish. Whoever expects quick, lavish harvests is disappointed.
What site suits the goji?
Difficult, poor, dry or saline corners where its robustness is an advantage and its spreading does not disturb, for instance banks. There it even secures loose soil. In a tidy bed only with a root barrier.
Sources
- Bavarian State Institute for Viticulture and Horticulture (LWG): goji and other wild fruit shrubs
- Julius Kühn Institute: Lycium barbarum, growth and ingredients
- Related in the magazine: Laying out an edible hedge and Sea buckthorn, the vitamin C bomb
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