Goji Berry Tree Seeds | Chinese Wolfberry | (Lycium chinense)

Five thousand years of cultivation. One of the most productive berry shrubs you can grow from seed.

Lycium chinense, the Goji Berry or Chinese Wolfberry, is one of the most historically significant and widely cultivated berry shrubs in the world, its bright red berries appearing in Chinese agricultural records dating back over 5,000 years and now grown across Asia, Europe, and North America for fresh eating, drying, and juicing. It produces arching, thorny stems covered in small purple-pink flowers through summer, followed by brilliant red elongated berries that ripen over a long harvest season. It is remarkably easy to grow, tolerating drought, poor soils, and cold winters to Zone 3 with the resilience of a plant evolved on the dry steppes of central Asia. If you are looking to buy Goji Berry seeds or grow wolfberry from seed, this is the productive, low-maintenance shrub that delivers a long harvest season from one of the hardiest small fruits available.

• Bright red berries ripen over an extended season from midsummer through fall
• Begins producing fruit within 2 to 3 years from seed, extremely productive once established
• Drought-tolerant and cold-hardy to Zone 3, thriving with minimal supplemental water
• Purple-pink flowers blooming over a long season attract native bees and pollinators
• Tolerates poor, sandy, and alkaline soils, one of the most adaptable berry shrubs available

Things you probably did not know about the Goji Berry

Fresh goji berries taste nothing like the dried ones sold commercially. Commercially available dried goji berries are typically harvested from large-scale agricultural operations, dried quickly, and shipped long distances. Fresh-picked goji berries from your own plants are sweeter, juicier, and far more complex in flavor. If your only experience with goji berries is the dried version from a grocery store, growing your own is a completely different experience.

The plant is closely related to tomatoes, peppers, and potatoes. Goji Berry belongs to the Solanaceae family alongside tomato, potato, pepper, and eggplant. This shared ancestry means the foliage and unripe berries contain solanine, a bitter alkaloid common to the nightshade family, while the ripe berries are safe to eat. Harvest only fully ripe red berries, the same way you would only eat a fully ripe tomato.

It spreads aggressively by root suckers and can form thickets. Goji is a prolific spreader in ideal conditions. In loose, well-drained soil with full sun, established plants will send up new shoots from the root system several feet from the parent plant. This makes it excellent for erosion control, hedgerows, and productive edges, but plant it where spread is acceptable or install a root barrier if you want to contain it.

Germination rate improves significantly with cold stratification. While Goji can germinate without pre-treatment, cold stratification for 30 to 60 days measurably increases germination rates and produces more uniform seedling emergence. Surface sow after stratification, seeds need light to germinate and should not be buried more than 1/8 inch.

Growing Details

• Botanical Name: Lycium chinense
• Stratification: Recommended, 30 to 60 days cold stratification
• USDA Zones: 3 to 10
• Soil: Well-drained, tolerates poor, sandy, or alkaline soils; does not tolerate waterlogged conditions
• Light: Full sun
• Height: 3 to 8 feet
• Spread: Spreading by root suckers, can form thickets
• Growth Rate: Moderate to fast, 1 to 2 feet per year

Plant it in full sun in well-drained soil and harvest the red berries continuously through summer and fall. Fresh goji berries taste nothing like the dried ones sold commercially. They are better.