Getting rid of a goji berry

[ameno]

Does anyone know how far I need to chase goji berry roots to make sure they don't regrow?
I'm getting rid of my big bush because it's unproductive and unruly, and I know it can resprout from the roots as the plot's previous tenant apparently tried to dig the bush out twice before, and yet it was still there and massive.
The problem is, getting all of the root out may be tricky, as they it primarily seems to have two tap roots which are about an inch and a half thick and go directly down.

[ameno]

Well, I've removed the taproots to about 20 inches below soil level, which is as deep as I can go without having to dig a massive hole. Hopefully that will be enough to stop it growing back. Don't want it coming up right next to the grape vine I plan to put there.

I also found a rather forlorn gooseberry bush hidden under the gojo berry, but sadly the label says it's Hinnonmaki Red, which I already have four of in my garden. I don't need an extra one, so that will either be given away or tossed.

[Nicos]

Let"™s hope that works!
I did read up about it this morning and nothing apart from industrial strength glyphosate seems to work completely ...so I imagine it may keep trying to come back.
Hopefully if you can keep cutting back anything which may reappear you"™ll eventually weaken it enough to finally see it off.

Iwas very tempted to get one a few years back when they were all the range, but I "˜m glad I didn"™t now!!!

What type of grape are you intending to plant?

[ameno]

Muscat Bleu.
I already have one, and it really impressed me. Even though I only planted it last year as a fairly small potted plant, and even though it got badly frosted in mid-May so it had to regrow from scratch, and as such it didn't flower until mid-July, it still produced about 8 good sized bunches of very tasty grapes which ripened before it got too cold. Sadly, I only actually ate one bunch, as something else ate the rest before I picked them...
Since it impressed me so much, I plan to take some cuttings from it once it goes fully dormant (it still has a few leaves on at the moment), then plant one where the goji bush was once it roots.

[Nicos]

Just read up about the grape.....nice choice!!!!!!

[MelanieSW]

Now I'm getting a bit worried... I dug up 2 gojis a few weeks ago, hopefully they won't come back! Although they were still small and had only been in that position for a year.

[ameno]

Now I'm getting a bit worried... I dug up 2 gojis a few weeks ago, hopefully they won't come back! Although they were still small and had only been in that position for a year.

I imagine that will be fine, then.
This one had apparently been there for some time, and it had very large taproots to show for it.

[Urban]

Yeh Goji is a useless plant where I live in the midlands at least, It always get covered in powdery mildew, and what few fruits it does produce, the birds steal as soon as they ripen

[ameno]

Yeh Goji is a useless plant where I live in the midlands at least, It always get covered in powdery mildew, and what few fruits it does produce, the birds steal as soon as they ripen

Mine got lots of powdery mildew, too.
Both this year and last, it was always covered in flowers from July until late September, but for some reason the fruit very rarely set. I see plenty of bees visiting, so in theory it shouldn't have been lack of pollination. I got about two dozen fruits right towards the end of the season (September/October), but for the first two months or more of blooming, not one fruit set.
But honestly, the fruits themselves aren't worth it, even if they were produced in decent quantity. If they are not 100% ripe then they have a bitter aftertaste, and even when they are perfectly ripe, they're kind of bland and unimpressive.

[ameno]

An update on this:
it seems I wasn't thorough enough. I dug the roots out to over a foot down, and pulled out any thick ones to deeper still, but today I discovered two shoots coming up. I cut them off a few inches below the ground. Hopefully if I keep cutting them off it will give up eventually.

I also discovered a few weeks ago that a stick I was using as a row marker had started sprouting leaves. This was a goji berry twig. It had been off the plant, just lying on the patio from November last year until late March this year, before I then stuck it in the ground. 4 months just lying out on the open, no water, no soil, and it was still alive. These things really are indomitable...

[Nicos]

They sound invasive …

[FB.]

They sound invasive …

Fortunately they don't send out underground shoots like raspberries or Japanese knotweed, so they don't spread; they just grow large and untidy. They are also susceptible to glyphosate such as tree stump killer formulations.

Gojis are an unbelievably tough plant - I have one growing in a spot that's so nasty nothing else has ever grown there (even buddleia, ivy, dandelions or other weeds won't grow there).

As others have noted: it's a vigorous, straggly plant, sometimes with a few thorns, which crops lightly and the birds or mice eat all the fruit before they are ready for human consumption.

Not worth growing.

[Nicos]

^^^^ interesting, thank you.
Good to see you FB !

[ameno]

As others have noted: it's a vigorous, straggly plant, sometimes with a few thorns, which crops lightly and the birds or mice eat all the fruit before they are ready for human consumption.

Not worth growing.

"Sometimes with a few thorns"? Mine was absolutely covered in half-inch thorns.

Fortunately they don't send out underground shoots like raspberries or Japanese knotweed, so they don't spread; they just grow large and untidy..

They won't spread underground, but they do naturally have a weeping habit and will happily layer themselves where a shoot touches the ground.