[bhwh]

Can anyone suggest any remedies for my poorly looking raspberries? New canes were planted in March this year and initially they seemed to bud up and grow nicely. I mulched using wood chippings which has reduced weeds. However they are now dying with new growth turning yellow then brown and whole plant looking very ill. Some are doing a bit better but even those don’t look tip top.

[bhwh]

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[Gardener and Rabbit]

Hi bhwh,

Those leaves look yellowing and chlorotic. Raspberries like a slightly acidic soil, so a couple of possibilities to consider might be that you are watering them with hard water, or that the roots are reaching chalky soil or limestone.  If that's the case, then giving them an ericaceous liquid feed would be helpful.

G&R

[snowdrops]

It could be that the mulch of wood chippings are beginning to break down & are robbing the nitrogen from the soil. It’s often recommended to only use well rotted mulches, I’d suggest digging the canes up & heeling them in elsewhere whilst the chippings rot down  or removing the clippings & giving them a good feed & replacing with some well rotted compost or manure

[jaydig]

It could be that the mulch of wood chippings are beginning to break down & are robbing the nitrogen from the soil. It’s often recommended to only use well rotted mulches, I’d suggest digging the canes up & heeling them in elsewhere whilst the chippings rot down  or removing the clippings & giving them a good feed & replacing with some well rotted compost or manure

I'd agree with you about the wood chippings.  We have a tenant on our site who read all about the "Eden Method" of gardening, who then commenced covering his whole plot almost knee deep in the
wood chippings that were delivered to our site for the use of ALL the tenants for paths, etc.  What he hadn't realised was that 99% of the chippings were coniferous and not the type to be used for this method of gardening.  Three years later he still struggles to grow much on his plot.  The plants are small, yellowed, and rarely come to anything.  Coniferous chippings rob the soil of nutrients as it breaks down, and it takes about five years for ground treated this way to be of any use. 
He also alienated most of the other tenants as he and his wife ran up and down with wheelbarrows in order to claim almost all of the chippings for their own use, leaving little or nothing for anyone else.

[Nobbie]

It could be that the mulch of wood chippings are beginning to break down & are robbing the nitrogen from the soil. It’s often recommended to only use well rotted mulches, I’d suggest digging the canes up & heeling them in elsewhere whilst the chippings rot down  or removing the clippings & giving them a good feed & replacing with some well rotted compost or manure

I'd agree with you about the wood chippings.  We have a tenant on our site who read all about the "Eden Method" of gardening, who then commenced covering his whole plot almost knee deep in the
wood chippings that were delivered to our site for the use of ALL the tenants for paths, etc.  What he hadn't realised was that 99% of the chippings were coniferous and not the type to be used for this method of gardening.  Three years later he still struggles to grow much on his plot.  The plants are small, yellowed, and rarely come to anything.  Coniferous chippings rob the soil of nutrients as it breaks down, and it takes about five years for ground treated this way to be of any use. 
He also alienated most of the other tenants as he and his wife ran up and down with wheelbarrows in order to claim almost all of the chippings for their own use, leaving little or nothing for anyone else.

Sounds like Karma in action

[bhwh]

Thanks for all the advice. I had suspected the Wood chippings might be to blame and started removing them last night. I will also have a look for some ericaceous liquid feed.

If I manage to recover the yellowing ones, is it likely the plants that died back to stalks will need replacing with new?

[Gardener and Rabbit]

Yes, the plants that have died right back will need replacing if you recover the others.

Before replanting, this site is helpful in working out your soil type. It's a free map of soil types across the UK, just click on your location to see the soil type:  Soilscapes soil types viewer - National Soil Resources Institute. Cranfield University   

G&R
 

[jaydig]

A bit of a late thought, I know, but the only time I've seen some of my raspberry plants looking like this was when one of my plot neighbours decided it would be a good idea to spray weedkiller on their plot, but close to mine.  It didn't affect many plants, and seemed random, but was caused by "wind drift" of the toxic spray.
As already said, though, bark chipping are notorious for causing this type of damage too.

[Christine]

A dose of well rotted manure in early spring keeps my raspberry canes in good order. I'd rather weed than loose production - it's been a good year so far.