The dust like things are the seeds. From the link:"Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 3 months at 10°c. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts." BTW, my seedlings didn't survive as I didn't winter them over in a greenhouse. Here is a link that might be useful: More info

Stephanie, I found the plant at a local perennial nursery and bought one to try it out. I have now killed three plants and have no idea of what is going wrong as this flower bed is a dream come through as far as soil, drainage, etc. The nursery where I found it in St. Louis specializes in many types and varieties of perennials--it was not a big box store so you may find it at a local specialty nursery. Good luck finding one (and hope it thrives well!) Teresa

Thanks, Jane. The winterberry may well be another of those native plants that would much rather have a nice, moist environment but will make do with whatever it can get so long as it's not too dry. Mine was probably a volunteer from the wild that my mother left in place many years ago. I suspect there is some underground water there; possibly originally from the house next door which is higher, but now there's a septic leach field nearby to please anything with deep roots. I have three, maybe four seedlings that appeared in beds I keep moderately watered and I'm hoping that at least one of these will be a male for a pollinator. I have no idea where the current male is and I'm afraid the bees have a long journey between them. Claire Here is a link that might be useful: Ilex verticillata at hortuconn

I live in West Tn. Two years ago, at a Chinese restaurant where I live, the Chinese lady who owned the place was sitting at a table next to mine, picking leaves off a pile of switches and putting them into a pot to cook. After watching her for a few minutes and wondering what plant the switches were cut from, I noticed the tiny thin thorns adorning the stems as they were being exposed in the picking. Wow! I asked the lady "Is that Goji?" Her face lit up and she asked, "You know Goji?" I told her that I'd been resurrecting seeds from dried berries for about 3 years, but the resulting seedlings consistentky only grew about three inches and died. She took a bunch of the now bare stems and rolled them up in newspaper, handed them to me and told me to put them in water to root OR stick them into damp ground where I wanted them to grow. I took them home and put all of them into planters on my porch. They all immediately started sprouting new leaves. Last year, several put out new plants from the roots a few inches away from the parent plant. Some of them flushed with blooms in late October, just before frost got them. An ice storm this Winter broke off a few twigs, and when I was cleaning up around them a couple of weeks ago, the severed twigs lying under the leaf cover on the soil were putting out roots and tiny new leaves, so they got stuck into a planter of their own. The parent cuttings have grown to almost 6 feet. I'm hoping they will bloom sooner this year. The soil is probably a bit too acidic. Does anyone know the best way to adjust the ph for gojis, as well as how (or whether) to prune them?