What’s wrong with my blueberry bush?

Question: We just received days of rain and I just went to check on my Legacy blueberry bush and it’s struggling. Please take a look at the pictures! I’d love insight as to how to fix this.  the other bush in the same bed died a couple of weeks ago despite efforts to fix the ph of the soil.

responder: Ed Olsen  Replied June 26, 2023, 12:24 PM EDT
response: I see a label in the picture.  How long have these been planted?  How does the soil drain?  If you did a hole, does the water sit in the hole?  You mentioned "fixing" the pH.  What is the soil pH and what did you do to "fix" it.

responder: The Question Asker Replied July 01, 2023, 10:26 AM EDT
response: These have been planted since early spring of 2022 - to be honest I’m not sure why I left the tag on. It’s a raised bed, so I would think the soil drains well, but there have now been two other companion blueberry bushes in the same bed that have died about 6 feet away. Water doesn’t seem to be pooling at all.  When I pulled up the most recent one that died (planted this spring of 2023), I noticed that the roots hadn’t expanded at all beyond the initial root ball. In the soil I did notice like a white almost mold? All through the bed. But I thought that was a sign of soil health from the research I had done. I put in an organic soil acidifier which seems to have taken it from a 7.0 to a 6.5 though I feel like this bush started struggling after I did that to the soil.

responder: Ed Olsen  Replied July 01, 2023, 10:40 AM EDT
response: What type of soil was used to fill the beds?  If they have not started rooted out from the original root ball that is likely the problem.  Was a lot of compost added to the beds?

responder: The Question Asker Replied July 01, 2023, 11:15 AM EDT
response: These have been planted since early spring of 2022 - to be honest I’m not sure why I left the tag on. It’s a raised bed, so I would think the soil drains well, but there have now been two other companion blueberry bushes in the same bed that have died about 6 feet away. Water doesn’t seem to be pooling at all.  When I pulled up the most recent one that died (planted this spring of 2023), I noticed that the roots hadn’t expanded at all beyond the initial root ball. In the soil I did notice like a white almost mold? All through the bed. But I thought that was a sign of soil health from the research I had done. I put in an organic soil acidifier which seems to have taken it from a 7.0 to a 6.5 though I feel like this bush started struggling after I did that to the soil.

responder: The Question Asker Replied July 01, 2023, 11:18 AM EDT
response: When I started the beds last year I did a mix of raised bed soil and black kow and I filled more this spring with the same. I think the roots not expanding was the problem with the other one, but this one has been established since last spring and the leaves are changing in different ways than the first one I think, which to me indicates a different problem?

responder: The Question Asker Replied July 01, 2023, 4:25 PM EDT
response: When I started the beds last year I did a mix of raised bed soil and black kow and I filled more this spring with the same. I think the roots not expanding was the problem with the other one, but this one has been established since last spring and the leaves are changing in different ways than the first one I think, which to me indicates a different problem?

responder: Ed Olsen  Replied July 05, 2023, 9:45 AM EDT
response: My first thought was damage from watering.  For the first image, see this website from Cornell.  The symptoms look very similar.   When you did the soil acidfer, did you follow label directions.  If misapplied, the product may have damaged the roots, causing problems with water up-take.  The other image appears to possibly be a leaf spot disease.  I can see smaller spots on other leaves.  The spots on this leaf likely coalesced on the leaf.   (Gloeocercospora Leaf Spot)  This is typically a disease of minor importance.  I would recommend removal of the 2 badly infected leaves off that plant.  I do not see concentric circles in the damage that would indicate anthracnose.