Dynamite Goji Berry

The Thornless, Dynamite Goji, Lycium barbarum 'Dynamite', berries grow as an evergreen shrub in the Southern United States, growing in USDA zones 5 to 10 where they are cold hardy. Goji Berry Plants grow to a height of about 7 feet tall, and the weight of the berries cause the branches to arch over into a weeping configuration that makes the berries very easy to harvest. The Thornless Dynamite Goji berry shrub is self pollinating and produces intensely sweeter berries when grown in the full sun or slightly shaded. The brilliant red berries look much like small peppers and can be eaten fresh when they ripen in June, or the berries can be dried for eating later.

The important use of Goji berries as a Chinese medicinal cure of many health problems has been widely publicized for sale as a cure-all, antioxidant plant. Goji berries originated in the Lycium region of Anatolia, Turkey, but the plants are mostly grown as a commercial crop in China with a yearly crop value of $120 Million that is distributed to markets as a sun dried product that resembles raisins. The sugar content of the Goji berry pulp increases in sweetness when left mature until the berries are completely ripe on the bush. Some home growers prefer to grow the plants indoors as container plants, but commercially Goji Berry Plants are grown outside.