Should blackberry leaves go brown over winter?

[stillplayswithtoys]

We brought it last summer. There are four canes. One old and three new. The three new ones are now really tall but the leaves are brown and crispy. Should I do anything with it? Will it revive itself in spring? Thanks

Blackberries die back in the winter. You probably should have pruned them. Wild ones are sprouting now so yours shouldn't be far behind.
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@squashyhat thanks for the reassurance. Probably too late to prune now so I guess best to leave them.

I am having a panic though. In January I moved the bush from a small pot to a massive barrel.... but used soil from last year's potato growing bags. While trying to find out about the leaves I found out that you shouldn't do this! Do I dig up and change all the soil or is the damage already done? Aaarggghh!!!

I'm new to gardening and there's sooo much to learn!

If it's being kept in a pot, have you been watering it recently? It's been very dry, not much rain here so are having to watering our pots even though it's not been hot yet.
Plus blackberries are very hardy - I doubt the soil you used for the potatoes is a problem. It might not have liked being moved but should pick up.
I've just pulled up a loganberry sucker (related to blackberries) & hardly any roots came with it - we've stuck it in a pot & expect it'll grow - they're hardy buggers!

Blackberries didn't become prolific in the hedgerow by being fussy growers.

It'll bounce back.

I also don't think the potato soil is a problem. Maybe give them a dose of balanced fertilizer like 20:20:20. They do die back in winter and then grow like mad in summer. They are an invasive species here that are fully exploited where they grow wild. The competition for picking is fierce!

Blackberries send out long shoots the first year, the next year the shoots grow branches on which the flowers and shoots appear. So each year cut down any shoots which have fruited, and keep the new shoots to fruit next year

Thanks everyone for reassuring me. Especially about the potato soil - I really thought I'd killed it! Although I think @APurpleSquirrel has a good point about lack of water though! Rookie mistake!