the plant is perennial ... the canes are biennial ...

after a cane fruits .... berries.. whatever ... it dies... and is cut out [usually in spring.. when it shows no sign of life] ... later in the season ... new shoots emerge ... and those will berry the following season ... and continue the cycle ....

they look like they are short of water ... run your drip system... then go dig some small holes near the plant ... and find out.. if you are running the drip long enough.... to get water to the root zone of the plant ... meaning 3 to 8 inches down.. where the roots are .... just use a hand trowel.. or a sharpened old tablespoon ... minimal sized hole ....

in my sand.. i would have to run the drip 3 to 4 HOURS ... ... i have no clue how many gallons that is.. it really doesnt matter ... its all about how water moves thru your soil ... thru the root zone ...

imo.. with years of drip take experimentation ... i found out.. that no one can tell you .. how to water in the soil in your garden... and all you are left with is digging holes.. and finding out ...

sooo .. if those fruited this season ... they are going to be dead come spring.. so who cares what they look like now ... my attention would be don on new emerging shoots.. and how they look ... in other words.. there is nothing to do about.. nor worry about ... you state they are not proper.. but i cant find them in your pix ...

as the canes decline .. towards death .. they do continue to process sunshine.. to store energy in the roots ... dont go cutting them out because they are ugly ...

there are full sun plants .. i hope the shade seen in the pix.. are the max shade for the day ....

ken

ps: in pic 3.. whats the wire.. and twine.. and what not????

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5 Thank you for your response. The pictures are of this years growth, they are the new shoots. Last years shoots had the same thing happen with their leaves and died. I did read that second year canes are supposed to die but it scares me that my new canes have the same problem. However I will run the drip system for longer this time and be sure to dig some holes like you suggested.

As for the shade, that is as bad as it gets these pictures were taken in the evening when a tree gets in the way of my garden. The green wire is steel cable for the trellis I built to support the raspberries. This is my second year gardening and I was expecting better production out of them so I made the trellis early.

Thank you for your response and help

Justin

Looks like they dried out those bagged mixes you buy can be very porous water just drains right through

The plants are just underwatered....nothing more :-) Rather than watering a set amount on any sort of schedule, soak the plants thoroughly when you do water, so that the water penetrates down fully into the root zone and the entire root area is well hydrated. Then do not water again until the top 4 inches of the soil is dry. If you are using a drip system, that might mean running it for an hour or two, depending on the size of your emitters.

btw, two year old raspberries are still very juvenile plants. They will not be very productive until each plant produces multiple canes rather than just the 2 or 3 I see in your photos.

Thank you for your responses. I am new to this so I have no idea. I am watering them right now as we speak. Thanks again.

Justin

Justin, based on your pics, I think you need some real soil. You say that "the soil is a compost/bagged garden soil mix." How much of it is actual mineral soil? I remember buying some "garden soil" once, and it was basically hardwood mulch with a bit of topsoil mixed in. After a while, the mineral part got washed away and I ended up with a few inches of wood mulch. Needless to say, my plants suffered. Can you get some topsoil, or dig up your own soil from a different part of the garden?

I can have a truck load or topsoil delivered to my home. I can dig up around the canes and try to mix it in as best as I can. Thank You.

I would be afraid of damaging the roots while the plants are growing by mixing in new soil. I would just continue with the double water ration until they go dormant, and then add the new soil. Injuring the roots and watering more in the heat of summer could cause them to rot.

Perhaps you should also include some mild organic fertilizer like fish emulsion? If the roots are not surrounded by soil, they need to be fed like container plants.