Wow Mike, You must be devastated! I wish I had the answer for you but without knowing how much sun they get a day and what sort of soil, well drained, clay or boggy it's difficult to tell. The last picture looks like sunburn, which happened to my Ayesha several weeks ago when we had a really sunny and hot day and maybe she was a bit dry, she had burn spots on the leaves and she was wilting terribly. But she recovered and has grown on and is producing several if not many buds. I know that shade is important for these guys, especially in the heat of summer. But even if they wilt in the sun, they should recover when shaded for a few hours. I hope somebody can give you a more definitive answer. One more think, I would hesitate to add any fertilizer to newly purchased plants as they are usually on steroids! Good Luck,

Donna

Thanks Donna,
This one gets only morning sun and is shaded the rest of the day. It's planted under two trees that cover it during the hottest part of the day. Maybe the problem is that I'm over fertilizing. I've been using the organic fertilizer it's a 3-3-3 (I think) and I use it every other week, I'm going to stop and hopefully they will come back. I'm starting to think I can't grow hydrangeas. : (

Sorry I forgot to answer about the soil. I've been told it's very good soil and drains very well. How can I find out?

When did you plant these? The florist one is not meant for the ground so don't take it to heart when it doesn't survive. With your BB I would definately not apply any more fertilizer for the rest of the year and I would use a chair or something to shade it during the time it gets sun until it recovers. Make sure that you water it about once every five days and water it really well instead of watering a little and more often. Don't get discouraged, hydrangeas are really easy to grow and are worth any trouble they may give us at times :)

Thanks melaroma. The BB is about 2 weeks old. I've stopped applying fertilizer to all of the hydrangeas and have been watering at the base of the plant but not very well.
I thought maybe I was over watering the BB, so I didn't water it this morning. I purchased a moisture meter and tested the soil and it was bone dry - needless to say the BB was very wilted. I watered at the root base for five minutes and instantly it came back to life.
It only gets morning sun from about 7a to 12pm. It's planted in the front part of the house which is East. Do you think I still need to shade it?

Thanks for the information and the encouragement. : )

If it has been planted only 2 weeks ago and still continues to wilt and burn even with the additional water you are now supplying, then yes, give it some shade until it has had time to settle in and form a good set of roots in your soil--maybe a month.

Good luck.

Kate

Thanks Kate. I will keep an eye on it and see how it's doing. Right now it is looking very good and the temp is already 84 degrees and it's only 10am. Man, I know this summer is going to be a very hot one!

I agree with Dublinbay, Keep it shaded to give it the opportunity to establish itself.

When watering keep the following in mind: They like moist soil, not wet or dry. Too much water can cause root rot and too little water causes the roots to dry out. Exactly how much watering you will need to do depends on many factors, what zone you are in, the season (summer requires more watering), The type of soil (well drained or not so well drained) and so on. Try sticking in a pencil (the kind that is plain wood) a couple of inches down and determine the need for water based on how deep the water is penetrating.

It might take a little while to master the watering but hang in there and you'll get it.

I forgot to mention that with any plant that has just been recently planted you should water it almost every day for the first two weeks to help the plant get established. After two weeks you can start watering every five to ten days.

melaroma,
Do you recommend watering every 5-10 days in zone 7/8. I'm in Dallas and the temps have been reaching well over 100 degrees. I've been watering every day since Saturday. Saturday was the 2 week mark that I had planted it.

I would do every five days and keep an eye on it. If it wilts then water more often. Make sure that you water deep.

Thanks. I think I'm going to have to water every other day. I watered last night and when I got home today, it was a little wilted. I'll try every other day and see what happens.