GardenPerennial Berry · zones 4–9 · 6 varieties
Goji Berry
Lycium barbarum
Solanaceae — the same plant family as tomato, pepper, potato, eggplant and 3 more here. Relatives share pests and diseases, which is why rotation plans group by family.
Goji Berry (Lycium barbarum) is a perennial berry for USDA zones 4–9. It wants full sun and pH 6.8–8.1 soil, with about 1 in of water weekly. First real harvest comes in 2 yr. Watch for aphids and powdery mildew. Below: its full sourced profile from 3 extension sources, plus a planting calendar timed to your frost dates.
Typical dates for zone 6b — set your zone or ZIP for yours. Timing is a guide from the crop's sourced growth stages; confirm with your local frost dates and extension before you sow.
What we will not put a number on
We do not give a feeding rate for this crop, and that is deliberate rather than a gap. The figures published by extension services are pounds of nitrogen per acre for a production field — they do not convert safely to a raised bed or a pot without knowing your soil test and your fertilizer's analysis, and guessing errs toward burning roots. It is also why every chart you find online disagrees with the next one.
We give watering as a depth per week rather than gallons per plant, because that is how it is actually measured and how the published figures are written. A gallons-per-plant number depends on your spacing, your soil and whether the plant is in a pot — so it would look more precise than it is.
Site & soil
- Hardiness zones
- 4–9
- Sun
- Full sun
- Soil pH
- 6.8–8.1
- These are the edges of the ideal band, not limits. UF/IFAS says goji grows across a broad range of soil pH and that 6.8–8.1 is simply where it does best, so soil outside that is not a reason to rule it out.
- Soil texture
- Loam, Sandy, Well drained
- Frost tolerance
- Hardy
No published figure for the temperature frost starts to hurt it and the temperature that would kill it. We looked — where a number is missing here it is missing from the research, not skipped. The crop’s frost and heat tolerance above still applies.
The plant
- Mature height
- 3–12 ft
- Mature spread
- 4–5 ft
- Growth rate
- Fastest
- Spacing in row
- 24–60 in
- Between rows
- 72–96 in
- Planting depth
- At soil levelest
- Container size
- 5 gal
- Support
- Self-supportingest
- Grown from
- Cutting, Seed, Layering, Transplant
Water & feeding
- Water needs
- Moderate
- Water per week
- 1 in/wk
- Critical water
- Establishment, Fruit setest
- Feeding
- Low
Timing & fruiting
- Years to first harvest
- 2 yr
- Pollination
- Self fertile
- Harvest cues
- Fruit coloring
There is no line here for how much winter cold it needs, because we have no figure to put there. We went looking and wrote down what we read — it is missing on purpose, not because nobody checked.
Edible parts per source: fruit.
The last row is nothing catching your plant. Those come from the growing conditions — water, feeding or sun — so they are fixed by changing what you do, not by spraying.
Compiled from the extensions cited below. Which ones actually show up depends on your region — your extension's local list is the last word.
Different parts differ — the edible part is the fruit; the notes below flag other parts or preparations.
PeopleLow severity, Toxic leaves, Atropine, Hyoscyamine, Scopolamine
Recorded exactly as the source states it — not medical or veterinary advice. If a person or animal may have eaten a toxic part, call Poison Control (1-800-222-1222) or your vet / the ASPCA line (888-426-4435).
| Variety | Type | Habit | Days | Color | Size | What it is known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Lifeberry | Trailing | — | Red | Very Large | ||
| Chinese Wolfberry Heirloom | Species | — | Orange | Small | ||
| Crimson Star | — | Red | Large | One Green World describes this asgets by on less water · takes the cold | ||
| Number 1 Lifeberry | — | Red | Large | |||
| Phoenix Tears | — | Orange | Small | |||
| Sweet Lifeberry | — | Red | Large |
- North Carolina State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
- University of Florida IFAS Extension
- Utah State University Extension
We compile bare facts from these university-extension and horticultural sources, never copied prose. 17 of the 21 values on this page carry a citation. The rest are marked est; hover one and it says why — either nobody publishes a figure we could point at, or a person set it and attached no source. Figures vary with climate and seed source; confirm with your local extension before you buy.
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