How to Care for Chinese Wolfberry

Eat dried wolfberries for a quick snack.

Wolfberry, a plant native to China and to the western United States, has the scientific name Lycium barbarum. It also goes by another better-known common name: Goji berry. This is how this plant's fruit is known among health care providers. Wolfberry has been used to treat an array of conditions both in a traditional medical setting and as an alternative remedy. Health professionals recommend it for nosebleeds, skin irritation, vision difficulties, anemia and other problems. Caring for wolfberry shrubs is a simple matter.

Things You'll Need

• Shovel
• Pickax
• Compost
• Water

Instructions

1. Plant wolfberry in organically rich soil if you're growing it for quality berries and flowers. Break up the ground to a depth of 6 inches and add 2 inches of compost to it before transplanting the shrub. If crop quality isn't a concern, this shrub tolerates poor nutrition, but it needs fast drainage.

2. Set the wolfberry shrub where it gets six to eight hours of sun daily, if the option is available. Light shade is the next best location for this deciduous bush.

3. Water your wolfberry to keep the soil moist. Give it 1 inch of water a week. Adjust this amount whenever it rains.

4. Grow wolfberry in a pesticide-free, pollinator-friendly garden, as this plant depends on bees for flower fertilization.

Tips & Warnings

• Chinese wolfberry tolerates the saline growing conditions of coastal areas.

References

• University of Nevada Cooperative Extension: Xtreme Horticulture
• Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center: Lycium
• Plants for a Future: Lycium barbarum - L.