Both blueberries and raspberries need full sun to thrive and produce lots of fruit. They will do OK in full sun, half-day, but they won't produce as much fruit in that situation. Blueberries require soil that is acidic, with pH between 4 and 6.5-have you tested your soil pH? It helps to know the pH of the irrigation water, as well. You might have tap water that contains dissolved limestone, or you might not. Irrigating blueberries with hard water will raise soil pH, over time.

Actually blueberries and raspberries tend to do fairly well in relative shade. The question is how vigorous is the growth? Once that question is answered we can go on with the rest of the diagnosis. The blueberries should be about mature size by now- well branched and around 6' tall. Raspberries should be sending up pencil thick stems about equally tall and spreading out vigorously.

Sometimes it's not the shade as much as the competition. It can be very difficult for small plants to compete with established trees. In this case, root pruning in early spring just outside the rootsystems of rb's and bb's with a spade might be the ticket.

The plants get full sun most of the day and the growth of all the plants has been negligible at best.

I have not tested my soil recently but it does fall on the acidic side. If it helps I have 2 Rose bushes along the same fence that were planted at the same time and they are doing great, but not much growth on the fruit.

I will retest the soil later and post results.

Is your soil a bit heavy? Raspberries and blueberries do best in light, highly organic soil. They also both need a lot of water. Blueberries can be badly stunted by a single drying out during the growing season.

If clay soil is the problem, a real good amendment is leaf compost like you find under an oak tree in the woods- the spongy black stuff with roots all through it. Otherwise you can make do with peat. Mix it 50-50 with your soil this fall, lifting the plants and replanting.

For blueberries, if your pH is above 6 (the book would say about 5) add sulfur. Raised beds 4' across are good. You can even replace your native soil if it really sucks.

If your roses are climbing type, they're pretty adaptable to heavier soils.

I did a ph of my soil in the blueberries bed and it comes in at 5.5

Are you pruning to renew fruiting wood? You take out every branch of the raspberries that has already had fruit. Those branches won't fruit again.

The blueberries need to have a few older limbs removed every year so that the plant puts out a few new branches every year. The blueberries don't need nearly as much pruning as the raspberries, but they do need a bit of wood renewal.

What about the soil quality, clay content and organic matter? I doubted your problem was pH because soils in New England tend to run acidic.

Thanks for all the help:

As I stated I have negligible growth. With the raspberries I have cut away all the dead wood in the Fall or Spring but have done little or no pruning to the Blueberries except for a little dead stuff.

There is no competition from other plants except grass along my fence. The Blueberries, Raspberries and Rose bushes are along a fence at least 4 feet apart with sun all day. I water them pretty regularly at least 3 times a week.

As for the soil, I think you guys may be on to something. I put a layer of Coast of Maine Compost on every spring but my house lot is a prefab community. I am not an expert on soil composition but the soil has probably seen very little organic matter over the years, especially where it located. It certainly feels like dirt and not the nice Organic soil or compost I buy or make.

I guess the question is how do I fix this (if it is the problem). More frequent composting? Adding some garden soil to the mix? When and how often? Grow different blueberry and raspberry plants? Thanks again

I looked up "Neptunes Harvest" & from the description, I am guessing that it is a concentrated source of nitrogen. For what it's worth, our blueberry shrubs get one tablespoon of Schult'z Plant Food-acidic formula, dissolved in 4 gallons of tap water, three times per season, in April, May, & June. That seems to keep the shrubs healthy & green. Is there a possibility that you might be putting down too much fertilizer?

I described how to fix it. Most developments strip the topsoil and sell it before constsruction then add a very thin layer over subsoil so grass can survive.

Where you find blueberries and raspberries in the natural world the soil has a very high level of organic matter and a course texture (not clay). Create such a soil after lifting the plants out and replant them. Many kinds of compost will work- just be mindful of pH.

With such small plants (compared to trees) it's not hard to create an entirely new soil- you can even add sand with the compost, which would be difficult with larger plants.

Raspberries can function in a heavier soil than blueberries.