Blueberries are deciduous, even though in warm climates they don't always lose their leaves in the winter time. I see you are in zone 9B/10, What cultivars of blueberries did you purchase? Were they Southern High-bush or rabbit-eye? These "species" of blueberries are the only ones with a low enough chill requirement to be able to do well in 9B/10.

If you have the right "species" of blueberries, you can scratch the bark of the "dry" one and see if there is any green exposed. If there is, then it is still alive and may start sprouting leaves soon.

Is your soil in the right Ph zone for blueberries? 4.5 - 5.7?

After several frustrating and unsuccessful attempts to grow "bare-root" blueberries, I have given up on starting these in the garden. There is another way, however. Bare-root stock can be potted up, in the spring, and kept on a porch, where the plants see subdued light, not direct sunlight. They can be nursed along through the summer, and set out, in the pot, in a protected location, in mid-summer, to harden. The shrub will be ready to transplant, into the ground, by late September. This procedure gives the roots a chance to develop, and fall planting reduces the metabolic demand that leaves place on the root system. That's how I do bare-root today, and it always works for me.

Gardenathome I see you live in zone 9B/10. If you live in a part of the country that has very hot summers (100+ deg F)you may not want to go with ericwi's advice.

dustin gardener gave good advice on how to tell if they are alive. I live in AZ and it was 90 deg F yesterday. My plants leafed out in January bloomed and have set fruit already. I would expect the same of healthy blueberry bushes in your zone.

A couple of questions to add to dustin's...

When did you purchase them?

Were the leaves in the same condition when you purchased them or did they leaf out and then dry up?

My plants are potted outside in well draining soil and I water them every 1-2 days. Are your plants outside or inside?

What soil mix did you plant them in?

Hi, everyone. Thank you for all of your help. Hope we have provided all info. below:

The plants were purchased back in February of this year and planted into the ground in March. Both varieties, I think one is Misty, is supposed to be good for this area.

After scratching the bark of the main stem it is still green inside but other branches have shriveled.

Just tested PH and it was at 7 surprisingly.

No, the leaves were nice on the bare root when we first purchased them. Had started to leaf out. Still good once planted into the ground outside. Then, all of a sudden one day, the leaves from the tip started to dry up, then redness on the stem between the leaf and the branch, discoloration, etc.

Soil mix consisted equal parts of spaghnum peat moss and soil...

???

Hi gardenathome, they are tectonically still alive but I don't give them much of a chance to pull through. Small plants have a certain amount of stored energy and and it takes most of that energy for them to leaf out. Once they leaf out they depend on the leaves to produce more energy through photosynthesis. They may have enough energy to push out a few more leaves in which case you will be nursing them along and they may get better although very slowly. It is much more likely that they will die or runt out than the odds are that they will live and thrive.

Gardenathome,

If your soil is really at a Ph of 7, you may have a hard time getting the Ph down to a level that the blueberries can handle. Go to your garden center and see fi you can find some sulfur granules that are designed to low the Ph of the soil. You may have to till in a good amount of this stuff to get the Ph of the soil down to at least 5. Good luck.

My experience with blueberry seedlings has been, when the leaves begin to turn brown, during the growing season, the shrub is basically toasted. Sorry, I know this is bad news. The damage is permanent, the shrub might linger a year or two, but it will never recover and take off with significant new growth. How are you measuring soil pH? I have used both pH meters, and more recently, indicator dye solutions. The indicator dyes are less expensive, and they are reliable.

Thanks though! :-)