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Description:

A sprawling, vine-like shrub presenting deep purple flowers in late spring; grown for its prolific, highly nutritious and flavorful bright red berries that ripen earlier than other varieties; a bright, sunny location is best

Edible Qualities

Firecracker Goji Berry is a medium-sized shrub that is commonly grown for its edible qualities, although it does have ornamental merits as well. It produces red oblong berries which are usually ready for picking from mid summer to early fall. The berries have a sweet taste.

The berries are most often used in the following ways:

• Fresh Eating
• Cooking
• Preserves

Features & Attributes

Firecracker Goji Berry is draped in stunning deep purple flowers along the branches from late spring to early summer. It has green deciduous foliage. The narrow leaves do not develop any appreciable fall colour. It features an abundance of magnificent red berries from mid summer to mid fall. The fruit can be messy if allowed to drop on the lawn or walkways, and may require occasional clean-up.

This is a dense multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other landscape plants with less refined foliage. This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Aside from its primary use as an edible, Firecracker Goji Berry is sutiable for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Firecracker Goji Berry will grow to be about 6 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 8 feet. It has a low canopy, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 40 years or more.

This shrub is quite ornamental as well as edible, and is as much at home in a landscape or flower garden as it is in a designated edibles garden. It does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Firecracker Goji Berry is a good choice for the edible garden, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.