I’ve seen pictures and videos of these sprawling and towering Goji bushes …and here and there a few points of red …seems to me like a lot of bush ( which I’m normally fine with ;)…and not very much fruit…not exactly space efficient…or do they get much more productive when they are older? Can you grow Goumi in zone 5…and more importantly…get fruit in zone 5 ?..I gather it takes a few years for Goumi to fruit , and if you have to start from root every year due to winter die back, will that ever produce fruiting wood ?
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Goji are TERRIBLE! Absolutely disgusting. I sadly ate one two days ago because they looked tasty. Alas, as always, they taste like licking an old battery, bitter and metallic. There is a tiny burst of initial sweetness followed by pure evil that lingers far far too long.
Goumi are worth growing. I can’t speak to Zone 5 hardy, but mine survived -12 and —16 F with no dieback. Easy to grow and totally problem free, taste like rhubarb pie if fully ripe. I removed them unfortunately as nobody liked them but me and honestly since they taste like rhubarb, growing rhubarb is much much more efficient in terms of harvesting and processing.
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There are sweet goji without bitter aftertaste. You just have to find the right variety like No. 1 or Amber Sweet for example.
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i have a red gem goumi here in z3b. been in ground 5 yrs. got fruit in year 2 and a bigger crop in year 3. the next year it got to -35f and everything above the snow line died. last year it came back well and is about 5ft. tall. should fruit next summer if we get a normal winter here. fruit are very tasty. has a little tomato like taste but very good. birds didn’t touch them but the chickens ate all that were within reach.
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The goji we have is a slow grower but does produce. Not much volume, but a decent ratio for its size. The bigger issue is the taste. No one likes them here! They do totally lose the bitterness when cooked, so they get thrown into soups and sauces, but it’s the only way to get anyone to eat them.
I would not bother with them, but have left the one we have in the ground for now.
I’m a big fan of gogi berries, though there aren’t a lot of us on this site. Basically, most gogi aren’t good for fresh eating, though there are exceptions.
However, if you think of them more like an herb than a berry, they are great. They are awesome for cooking in traditional Asian soups and good for adding to smoothies.
I have found them to be extremely easy to grow and pretty productive, bearing from August until frost. They are as close to plant it and forget it as “berries” come. It’s really a matter of what you want them to do.
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I didn’t mind when my Goji died.
Don’t miss it.
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My Goji berries taste like little tomatoes. I like fresh ones thrown on a salad.
The birds won’t eat them which I find odd since it’s so dry out here. A friend says it’s because nightshades shouldn’t be eaten by anybody or anything and the birds know better lol.
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(Or, little tomatoes after running them through a blender with a couple Cayenne peppers.)
Goji Salsa? 
My goji never produced much. I think they need more sun then I was giving them (6 hours).
Mine turn solid red with berries. I’ve never seen a plant fruit heavier.
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For a long time i thought my goji was straight poisonous but since someone said there wife liked the sweet lifeberry and reminded them of the goji berries from there childhood i have now moved on to its just poisonous tasting to me.
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Glad you started this thread. I was asking the same question. Sounds like everyone feels they are a waste of money though.
Thanks Moose…that’s exactly what I need to hear…I’m interpreting what you said as this: if the weather behaves…even in zone 3b it is possible to get fruit…and if not…it will grow back from the root, but will require more than 1 season’s growth to produce fruit again ?..or can you get fruit on first year growth ?
depends how much snow and how severely its died back. if its just the tips id think it would still fruit . like A.O its very vigorous. mine froze the top 3ft. but nearly grew that back last year so id think it would fruit some next year. in your zone id say you’re bulletproof.