Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
shivadiva_gw

Schisandra Chinensis, Lycium Barbarum

shivadiva
18 years ago

Hi...looking for comments on growing experiences with Schisandra vine and Goji berry (wolf berry). The first is a vigorous vine and is compared to a clematis or a grape vine...the latter is a bushy thing with thorns that grows in a large caning habit (but can be pruned).

Both of these are herbs from traditional chinese medicine, and I would like to grow them and harvest them. Anyone with experience? Both seem like they have escaped easily and might be invasive.

Also, any cooking recipes? Both end-products are dried berries which are fantastic antioxidant sources and are used in teas--goji berry is also used like raisins for snacking and gets put in trail mix, and some people have suggested trying stewing them with meat dishes like prunes, cherries, etc. The other (Schisandra, magnolia vine, wu wei zi, Five Flavor berry) is apparently sourer...but I'm game to cook it if anyone has suggestions or recipes.

Thanks!

Carol Shepherd

Ann Arbor, MI

Comments (23)

  • drasaid
    18 years ago

    I am trying to grow some from a few dried berries I bought at Whole Foods (about a handful is a buck! Dang) If I get more than two you can have some seedlings. (that is unless you are already doing the same thing I am.)
    I did'nt know they had thorns, though.

  • chills71
    18 years ago

    I traded with a nice member last spring and got a few cuttings rooted. I planted them out last summer and they seemed to do well. I am anxiously awaiting spring to see if they return.

    ~Chills (in SCS, Mi)

  • lkz5ia
    18 years ago

    Chills, which plant did you root cuttings of; schisandra or lycium?

  • drasaid
    18 years ago

    I have at least three so far. I soaked them and smushed them, then buried some and left others on the surface of the soil. I got the berries at Whole Food (about twelve, enough to weigh so I could pay for them.)
    So if you want some seedlings, and can wait until they are sturdy enough to mail, let me know.
    I'd like some schisandra too!

  • chills71
    18 years ago

    lycium.....but I did order an Eastern Prince Schisandra for this spring.

    ~Chills

  • lkz5ia
    18 years ago

    After my eastern prince magnolia vine was dug up and killed last year, I went through with it and bought another one this year. I will be starting it in the nursery this year.

  • chills71
    18 years ago

    how old was yours when it died? Did you ever get fruit from it?

    This is another of those plants which the description of the fruit is unclear. (a pet peeve of mine)

    ~Chills

  • lkz5ia
    18 years ago

    Just planted it last year from jung. By the descriptions that are out there the fruit doesn't sound very tasty, but sounds nutritious.

  • chervil2
    18 years ago

    My Schisandra chinensis is an attractive vine that has been bearing fruit for four years. The berry flavor is strong and interesting both fresh and dried. A local Chinese restaurant serves homemade Schisandra juice and extolls the health benefits of the beverage. The juice flavor is okay. I prefer to have Chinese tea with my meal.

    Chervil2

  • chills71
    17 years ago

    Just an update. The Lycium plants I rooted from cuttings last year have already started leafing out (which places them in second place after the goumi which didn't lose its leaves and has been adding new leaves since the first of the year.

    If they flower (the Lycium, wolfberries) I'll try to post a pic and update this posting.

    ~Chills

  • djlerkl
    17 years ago

    For good information on growing lycium barbarum/goji berry, you can check www.timpanogosnursery.com; they have the best information I've found. I ordered one plant from them which just arrived today. It was bare root and dormant so don't know yet how it will do. You can also check gojiberry.com. One Green World also sells them.

  • fairy_toadmother
    17 years ago

    i just posted this in the vines forum. i am so excited b/c i have berries on my schiz. the flowers aren't nearly as showy as the pics in the catalog. well, at least i never notice them until too late. lasat year, i had one bloom. this year i had many. as of now, the berries are green. i do not know how long it takes for them to mature. i did read that they sweeten a bit if left through a frost. does this mean it takes a long time to develop the fruit to maturity? i don't know.

    anyway, mine has been growing in part sun/shade for 3-5 years on my shed trellis. it started out a little bushy but with one long vine section. this year, it is taking off. ihave had no insect attacks or diseases. it hasn't spread underground from its little 1'x 5' section. now, as for invasiveness from berries, i don't have a clue.

    hope this gave some useful information.

  • shivadiva
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Got the Schisandra from Jung and put it in the ground this spring, very healthy looking. However, the animals like it too much: it's been chewed down to the ground 3 times (and keeps coming back up, but I worry about its ability to survive). Must be tasty!

    On the Lycium Barbarum...I have decided to buy them rather than to grow them. I am eating a handful a day on my cereal for the antioxidant values...growing that many myself would entail giving my entire yard over to the bushes.

  • lkz5ia
    16 years ago

    I've bought Schisandra from jung twice and both times it has died. I might try again because of the 'three strikes and your out' rule. Seaberries are one that likes my Western Iowa climate.

  • tamelask
    16 years ago

    burnt ridge carries both plants at reasonable prices... and i've had good luck with their stuff. i've found schizandra to be a little invasive. it suckers out from the base. i planted mine about 7 years ago, and when i realized it suckered, i tried to move it. didn't get all the roots, so inow i have it in 2 spots. it bloomed last year, but the berries dropped. this year it was full of buds but we had a sever late freeze that zapped them off. so i still haven't tasted the berries. haven't tried the wolfberry yet, but it's on my list of wants...

  • connie_z5
    15 years ago

    Carol,
    did you get the Schisandra Chinensis, Lycium Barbarum plants?
    Connie

  • ajkoen00_gmail_com
    13 years ago

    I grew about 50 Lycium plants 2 years ago from seed. I soaked the berries and germinated them in damp paper towel. The biggest ones are now about 3 feet tall and flowered for the first time this spring. From what I have heard about goji they like well-drained mineral rich soil and may 'drown' easily. Many of my seedlings survived unprotected outside in pots over the winter, (-25 f) proving them to be very cold tolerant... and also tolerate of the extreme hot and dry summer conditions here with minimal irrigation.

    I have collected about 5 other 'varieties' of berries from various sources and have them growing in the nursery this spring.

    I am curious about schisandra and its growing requirements as I bought some seeds this spring but have not started to grow them yet.

    I'm also trying a plant called yellow-horn which is supposed to be quite drought and heat tolerant and bears edible nuts.

    -Aaron

  • hemnancy
    13 years ago

    I grew Lycium from seeds too, but I planted them in the garden in fall and none were still there in spring. I might try again and keep them in pots or at least until they are bigger plants.

    According to Plants for a Future, Schisandra chinensis has separate male and female plants and must have both to fruit. This is also my experience since I once had 2 plants and had berries set, then one died and the remaining plant, although large, doesn't seem to set berries anymore. I need to get a second plant again, I guess, but I don't understand the reports above about getting berries with one plant...?

  • hemnancy
    13 years ago

    Oh, I looked at Burnt Ridge's site and Plants for a Future again, and apparently only Schisandra chinensis needs a male and female plant, Eastern Prince is self-fertile.

  • nufarul_meu_yahoo_com
    13 years ago

    Dear Friends,

    I live in Romania and i just heard of schisandra, but i wish it very much.

    How can i know which plant is male and which is female?
    I read that florist sell de-sexed plant. How can i avoid such a neutered one?

    PS. You mentioned a self-fertile cultivar, Eastern Prince. Does anyone have such a plant and have seeds from it? If yes, do you sell/ exchange few of them?

    Love from Romania

  • unbiddenn
    10 years ago

    In northern Wis. the schizandra I planted ten years ago is at least 11ft tall against the house. it berries copiously, but the robins and their babies eat every last one as they ripen. I bought it mail order, with no idea how to grow it. Luckily it loves morning sun, and shade past noon. It has never run rampant, or even tried to, but it does have many stems now at the base. Stems that can easily be cut from the mother and planted elsewhere.
    What do you do with this plant?
    it is the plant straight ahead, against the house. The climber on the left is a clematis.

  • uluru17
    8 years ago

    Hi everybody. I'm looking for a seedling of Schisandra chinensa. Several times I tried to grow it from seeds - but I failed each time... If anybody can help me - please let me know. Paul (uluru17@gmail.com)

0
Sponsored
Iris Design Associates
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars22 Reviews
Northern Virginia Landscape Architect - 13x Best of Houzz Winner!