Sorry for the long absence, been very busy with life and other things! Also misplaced the device I use to transfer pictures from phone to computer but found it! I have been compiling pictures and videos and pictures for content on steemit. Hope you all enjoy the progress and new things that I have come across while growing these gojiberry plants.
The first photo above shows the incredible growth one particular plant has done during this particular summer. I believe it has to be well over 10 feet tall if I had to estimate. The rate at which a gojiberry plant can grow is almost unbelievable. That is why it is recommended to prune the height down during the summer to ones desirable height to make ease of picking berries.
This year was particularly hot where I live and majority of the plants lost a lot of their leaves as seen above, but were still doing okay. I decided to water more than I usually did, The reason that I didn't before is because I was worried that the plants wouldn't like it because I had read that They don't like a lot of water and root rot or water logged roots.
I guess a new simple rule would be water if soil is dry or has dry appearance and don't water if moist or has wet appearance.
The time recommended would be in the morning of evening but not at noon because the water won't penetrate the soil as well.
I noticed a new characteristic or behavior from the gojiberry plant that I found fascinating. I have a little theory about it whether it is right or wrong I would like to share it and see if others growing goji can concur or deny what may or may not be. In the picture above you see a portion of the plant in the first picture. There are a few leaves and many, many, thorns
So here is what I think happens for the gojiberry plant: When conditions are good and favorable the nodes turn into leave and/or flowers. Plenty of water sun and warm to moderate temperatures. When conditions are bad or not favorable than the nodes turn into thorns as seen in the picture.
Why is that the case though well there are a few things that come to mind in my opinion. first, It takes less energy to make thorns than leaves or flowers. Second, it preserves water that would be lost through the leaves when they transpire. Also the if there is significant moister in the air the water could condense on the thorns and drip down to the base of the plant hence providing water to the plant.
Hopefully this is correct to some extent and will help others when growing this plant.
The two photos above show the results of providing sufficient water and more tolerant temperatures rather than the extreme heat experienced this summer. New leaves, new shoots and flowers.
Will have an September update of the results hopefully tomorrow or so.
Thanks for reading!
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