GOJI plants.

[Furkin]

Hi all,

been a while since I've been on here (so things must have been going well eh ?)
Last year I bought some Goji plants.
I had them on very gentle heat for a while, then left in unheated conservatory (or porch some would call it).
The 12 I got from Derby all died (some looked dead on arrival, but sender said they were o.k !? Won't be going there again !!
Out of the 6 that I got from Wiltshire - 4 lived. 3 of them threw out some long long twigs (about 2 feet) with decent leaves.
At the end of the summer these died off & to be truthful, I thought they'd all bit the dust.

Last week I watered my exotica in the porch, & put a bit of water & feed on the goji's, & they have started to leaf.

So, here's my question:
The ones with long shoots have a few leaves at the end of the shoots. I'm sure that these shoots will weaken the plants, & would have preferred to take them off beforehand (that's if I'd known they would make a come-back).
Does anyone know if it's safe to take these long, leggy twigs off now before the plants take a hold ?

Feel free to throw in any other advice on these plants as well please.

all the best to you all

Furkin

PS: Just ordered a few bits from T&M. I asked about delivery & was told they would be sent out at end of April,,,, so will be with me by early February (I hope they don't mean 2010 !)
also, they are unbelievably slow in replying to e-mails (if at all), so much so that I didn't bother with the second order.

[SueA]

Hi Furkin,
I've only just got my first goji plant (free from G.Y.O. I think) so can't speak from experience but I think you might be mollycoddling your plants too much as they're supposed to be hardy down to minus 15 degrees & do better grown outside. You can apparently grow them indoors but you have to hand pollinate them then to get any fruits. They grow up to 10ftx10ft & can be pruned to keep them to the size you prefer & pruning is best done in early spring so I'd say you should be O.K. cutting back the very long shoots if you want. Here's a link to some info. I found.
Goji Berry Plant (Lycium barbarum)

[Eco-Chic]

I bought my Goji last summer. They're supposed to be very hardy and drought tolerant. They're a type of vine so supposed to throw out long shoots I would have thought.

If I do prune mine I'll use the prunings as cuttings I think.

[Two_Sheds]

I think you killed them with kindness Furkin. As the others have said, goji or wolfberry is hardy, and grows naturally in British hedgerows

[Alan Farmer]

I got a Goji last year. I did find it was susceptible to powdery mildew or similar, it responds Ok to being pruned, and I did successfully take a cutting, which rooted easily. My main plant is now on the fruit section of my allotment, and will definitely need to be hardy!

[Furkin]

thanks all.
I did cut one off of a plant that had lots of new leafs at the bottom,,, & stuck it in with my small lemon tree.
It looks like i'll prune them. It seems a shame to cut off new leaves,,,,

I getting ready to grow other stuff from pips,,,, so will start a separate post - re' timing.

cheers

F