Goji From Dried Fruit?

[JoeR]

Nutters,


There are youtube videos that claim you can start Goji plants from the seeds inside dried fruit, like the ones you can buy at the store for salads.

I would like to know if it is possible to get viable seeds from dried berries? If so, has this been attempted by anyone here, and how has it turned out?

Will they produce fruit when they reach mature size?


Thanks in advance,

Joe

 

[GGB]

I grow goji berries in my garden. I started them from the seeds in a dried berry. They are insanely fickle, the seeds get moldy, seedlings die suddenly, and I still haven't found a way to take cuttings yet. But I recommend soaking for 24/36 hours and sowing directly in the ground or outdoor pot in the summer. They tend to tip over to, think I read that they have a crawling habit. I constantly cut mine back

 

[AlainK]

I bought a potted one from an online plants supplier.

Maybe it was not in the right spot, the first two years it merely survived, making leggy shoots. I think that it's now dead.

Anyway, goji bays when they are not collected from the right plants in the right place are of no more value for your health than organic TOMATOES!

Tomatoes are good.

Fresh tomatoes, fresh basil (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basil) or with warm boiled potatoes and cream, sprinkled with dill

OK, a bit cheesy, but I looove it:

 

[JoeR]

I bought a potted one from an online plants supplier.

Maybe it was not in the right spot, the first two years it merely survived, making leggy shoots. I think that it's now dead.

Anyway, goji bays when they are not collected from the right plants in the right place are of no more value for your health than organic TOMATOES!

Tomatoes are good.

Fresh tomatoes, fresh basil (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basil) or with warm boiled potatoes and cream, sprinkled with dill

OK, a bit cheesy, but I looove it:

How would I know if they have the health benefits? I was thinking about buying one from tytyga.com maybe if the seeds dont work well.

 

[JoeR]

I grow goji berries in my garden. I started them from the seeds in a dried berry. They are insanely fickle, the seeds get moldy, seedlings die suddenly, and I still haven't found a way to take cuttings yet. But I recommend soaking for 24/36 hours and sowing directly in the ground or outdoor pot in the summer. They tend to tip over to, think I read that they have a crawling habit. I constantly cut mine back

Do they produce fruit?


Thanks for the replies by the way.

 

[justBonsai]

I'd just eat the berries/seeds instead of growing them. To get those goji trunks you see on the auction pages or from members here take quite a long time. I have one in my backyard planted for at least 5 years if not more. Trunk is still extremely slim with no notable "bonsai characteristics". Maybe if you had a seedling and put some gnarly bends in it it then let it grow unrestricted you might end up with something neat but definite a slow grower. They make a good addition to soup stocks if you want to cook with them.

 

[JoeR]

I'd just eat the berries/seeds instead of growing them. To get those goji trunks you see on the auction pages or from members here take quite a long time. I have one in my backyard planted for at least 5 years if not more. Trunk is still extremely slim with no notable "bonsai characteristics". Maybe if you had a seedling and put some gnarly bends in it it then let it grow unrestricted you might end up with something neat but definite a slow grower. They make a good addition to soup stocks if you want to cook with them.

Thanks for the advice.


As with all species, seeds take time to turn into anything and I know that. I plan on twisting a few together to speed the process though.

 

[Vin]

To get those goji trunks you see on the auction pages or from members here take quite a long time. I have one in my backyard planted for at least 5 years if not more. Trunk is still extremely slim with no notable "bonsai characteristics". Maybe if you had a seedling and put some gnarly bends in it it then let it grow unrestricted you might end up with something neat but definite a slow grower.

That's why the supply is low and the demand high. I've had a few inquiries with mine but it took so long to find a decent one I hate to let it go. Besides, I really like it.

 

[justBonsai]

That's why the supply is low and the demand high. I've had a few inquiries with mine but it took so long to find a decent one I hate to let it go. Besides, I really like it.

Yep quite pricey too.

Thanks for the advice.


As with all species, seeds take time to turn into anything and I know that. I plan on twisting a few together to speed the process though.

There are many trees that would develop faster from seedlings and I'm not just talking about tridents or other acer varieties. Twisting the trunk is probably necessary early to give the base good character but doing so will make it grow even slower than if it was grown unrestricted upright. All I'm trying to say is that there are better candidates to grow from seed. But if you have both the time and ability to grow and nurture trees from seed/seedling by all means go for it.

I personally will be finishing my degree in 2 years and will move to wherever I can find work. Hopefully its somewhere where I can keep my trees but there is no guarantee. Because of that I'm less inclined to start projects that take too long and will force me to give them up.

 

[JoeR]

Yep quite pricey too.


There are many trees that would develop faster from seedlings and I'm not just talking about tridents or other acer varieties. Twisting the trunk is probably necessary early to give the base good character but doing so will make it grow even slower than if it was grown unrestricted upright. All I'm trying to say is that there are better candidates to grow from seed. But if you have both the time and ability to grow and nurture trees from seed/seedling by all means go for it.

I personally will be finishing my degree in 2 years and will move to wherever I can find work. Hopefully its somewhere where I can keep my trees but there is no guarantee. Because of that I'm less inclined to start projects that take too long and will force me to give them up.

There are definently better species to start from seed- and I am doing some of those too, which reminds me I need to plant them tommorrow. JBP, JRP, Trident, Giant Sequoia, etc.


But I understand your issue, I have the same one as I may be moving soon. But I figure, plan like I wont have to give them up and if I do, oh well. I have wasted time on worse things.

 

[Ironbeaver]

Richters Herbs in Canada (I believe they ship to the US) sells seeds:
https://www.richters.com/Web_store/...erb_and_Vegetable_Seeds&cart_id=3549114.29549
and plants:
https://www.richters.com/Web_store/...rb_and_Vegetable_Plants&cart_id=3549114.29549

 

[GGB]

Mine grow like weeds, not sure what I'm doing right on that one. And a lot of people online will tell you that you can't grow fruit from seed/inferior taste/inferior nutrition. hmmm interesting, when you consider how expensive fruit trees are versus planting a seed from a fruit you've eaten. There's a lot of misinformation floating around the internet, (it's benefiting someone somewhere) all you can do is try. I grow a variety of citrus fruits here in PA (yes from seed). Sometimes they are inferior, but once in a blue moon you get a mutation for the better. And the idea that goji berries were useless fodder until a company "made them better" seems like a racket to me. Again, my disclaimer, I'm an idiot 26 year old kid, but the proof is in the pudding and the amount of rules I've broken growing fruit has made me reconsider the "rules" I'm taught second handed, constantly.

 

[michaelj]

I'm growing these guys from dried fruit seeds. When they fruit, I'm going to take the one with the tastiest fruits and clone the hell out of it, eventually replacing the rest with clones of that one.

 

[Bunjeh]

Amazon. Paid $2.50 for seeds. They need to be kept moist but don't bury. They need sun to germinate. I kept one plant and gave the rest away. Flowered the first year.

 

[JoeR]

Amazon. Paid $2.50 for seeds. They need to be kept moist but don't bury. They need sun to germinate. I kept one plant and gave the rest away. Flowered the first year.

My friend gave me some so I buried them and none sprouted, I guess thats why!

 

[onlyrey]

MichiganBulb.com has the goji [shrubs?] for about $7 if you apply a 50% coupon (got one in the mail catalog #08539395 - if it doesn't work, go into the chat and tell them you had a mail-in catalog but lost it and need a code) and shipping for total order is around $10... However, who knows how big the plants are, as the description only says "bareroot".

 

[milehigh_7]

Mine is growing like a weed. Don't know much about it yet. I'm going to try and divide it soon. It has grown about 10 inches this week.

 

[JoeR]

Mine grow like weeds, not sure what I'm doing right on that one. And a lot of people online will tell you that you can't grow fruit from seed/inferior taste/inferior nutrition. hmmm interesting, when you consider how expensive fruit trees are versus planting a seed from a fruit you've eaten. There's a lot of misinformation floating around the internet, (it's benefiting someone somewhere) all you can do is try. I grow a variety of citrus fruits here in PA (yes from seed). Sometimes they are inferior, but once in a blue moon you get a mutation for the better. And the idea that goji berries were useless fodder until a company "made them better" seems like a racket to me. Again, my disclaimer, I'm an idiot 26 year old kid, but the proof is in the pudding and the amount of rules I've broken growing fruit has made me reconsider the "rules" I'm taught second handed, constantly.

I have one in a grow bed that I got on sale from lowes hardware, and im also finding it to be a fast grower/heavy fruiting tree. Seedlings pop up from it all the time.

I forgot about this thread, so I have 50 goji berry seeds sitting in 2" pots. @Bunjeh said they need sun to germinate... can anyone confirm? And do they need cold stratified? Nothing ive read has said anything about it so these were planted immediately from fresh or dried fruit.

@GGB what kind of citrus, and how long do yours take to flower/fruit from seed? Still have them? I have a ton of calamondin seeds germinating right now. They would make a great species for medium sized bonsai, but I have to get the trunks shaped before they harden to get anything decent. Debating using the screen method

 

[GGB]

Hey @JoeR , I just got rid of my very last lime tree about two weeks ago. I hate overwintering them, and don't want to spend the money to do a good job with it. I tried a few types of lemons but never got fruit. My mandarin lime trees gave fruit after 4 years, keylimes after 2 years. Never tried sweet oranges but they are supposed to be easy to do from seed (fruit wise) but they need heat to germinate. Something I'm low on for 6 months here. Bitter oranges fruit reliably from seed, and make good bonsai, and have the added bonus of being cold hardy in zone 6. But the fruit is so disgusting it's hard to say how the quality rates haha. Grapefruits were fun but I never held onto one long enough to reach fruiting age. I probably had some obscure stuff I'm forgetting too .. that quote is 6 years old at this point. I had some pomelos but found out that they wind up just being grapefruits when done from seed, they took up way to much room to bother continuing with. Moral of the story is ... key limes are bad ass

 

[JoeR]

Hey @JoeR , I just got rid of my very last lime tree about two weeks ago. I hate overwintering them, and don't want to spend the money to do a good job with it. I tried a few types of lemons but never got fruit. My mandarin lime trees gave fruit after 4 years, keylimes after 2 years. Never tried sweet oranges but they are supposed to be easy to do from seed (fruit wise) but they need heat to germinate. Something I'm low on for 6 months here. Bitter oranges fruit reliably from seed, and make good bonsai, and have the added bonus of being cold hardy in zone 6. But the fruit is so disgusting it's hard to say how the quality rates haha. Grapefruits were fun but I never held onto one long enough to reach fruiting age. I probably had some obscure stuff I'm forgetting too .. that quote is 6 years old at this point. I had some pomelos but found out that they wind up just being grapefruits when done from seed, they took up way to much room to bother continuing with. Moral of the story is ... key limes are bad ass

Awesome stuff, thanks. I've read calamondin flower at year 2 as well, but I was just curious how long some of yours have taken. Id definitely try a key lime if I could get one, I believe they're somewhat similar to the calamondin in terms of leaf size/growth habit. The calamondin is also bitter and essentially an orange flavored lime.

Seeds definitely require heat to germinate, top of a freezer works well. All the fat seeds germinated as expected, this was a few days ago. Shoulda used some peroxide to kill the mold

None of my goji have germinated