I have three issues but to keep from bumping other threads I'll put them all here.

1) Raspberries: Some primocanes (first year canes) on my everbearing plants are wilting/dying. Not all plants have canes in this condition and no plant is severely effected. My assumption is that there is too much fruit and foliage for the plant to sustain so it is sacrificing some of it's primocanes to maintain health and vigor to it's floricanes and their fruit.

2) Water: It's been hot (80's-90's) and dry here so I have watered either daily or every other day. I watered Sunday and Tuesday (this morning) and on both occasions, while it looks bone dry, the ground is quickly saturated. My assumption is that I have moist soil just a couple inches under the surface. (I'll test tomorrow, if it doesn't rain tonight.) If this is the case I assume I should back off a bit, especially on some of the larger and/or deeper feeding plants.

3) Japanese Beetles: I have a pair feeding on my Raspberries plants. I've read that I can snatch them off the leaf and toss them into some soapy water (best done early or late in the day) and that might take care of the problem. The theory, I suppose, is that by killing off the first to arrive you may prevent others from finding you. The buggers aren't out of the ground long so the problem is short lived.

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Currently listening to: Vince Guaraldi Trio -- A Charlie Brown Christmas. Adult and contemporary but evocative of youth and innocence, a must own CD.

Sudden wilting of the tips of raspberry or blackberry canes indicates raspberry caneborers. Look closely at the canes and you may see 2 rows of punctures about 1 inch apart at the tip of the cane. An egg is layed between the 2 rows of punctures.

To destroy the larva, cut off the wilted tips below the lower row of punctures and burn them.

I've been spraying my raspberries, grapes, and rugosa roses with pyola and Surround to try to repel Japanese Beetles. So far I haven't seen any. Garden's Alive has both of these products, but I can get Surround locally for much cheaper--$25 for a 25 pound bag instead of a 5 pound bag from Garden's Alive for the same price.

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Terry

May the force be with you

I backed off the water and virtually everything looks much better as a result. I got rid of three beetles but now have two more.

The real issue. I have two more canes in dire straits . It appears to be inconsistant with cane borer, cane maggot and root rot. It might be consistant with winter damage. The damage manifests in late spring to early summer.

Specificly, one of the primocanes only has dried up leaves on the southwest side. It's the western most primo growing and only the leaves facing southwest are wilted. The body of the cane is green and clean and the leaves on the "shaded and wind sheltered" side are nice and green.

From what I've read they need to be pruned/removed because a weakened cane is an open invitation to more problems but I'm wondering ... winter damage that's showing up months later? I'm gonna stay on it but right now that's my new best guess.

The damage showed up on the weaker, less vigorous, plants first and the two canes in question are on the strongest. (Most fruit, 5+' primo's.) Winter damage/heat stress results in lower yield. Last year I had no yield because I planted them in the spring so I lack a key tell.

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Currently listening to: Vince Guaraldi Trio -- A Charlie Brown Christmas. Adult and contemporary but evocative of youth and innocence, a must own CD.