Hi Joyce,
It looks to me like the leaves are getting burned. I've been reading about them and got answers from other members. These plants seem to like it where there's some shade and morning sun. I also read that when you first plant it you should be watering it one to two times a day. for the first 3 weeks. I'm in the mist of planting one myself.Here is a website you can check out it has some info about them.
http://www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com/paniculata.html
I hope this helps
Mary-Jane

No not burned but rather it suffered a dry spell or most possibly because it was newly planted and for a short period it wasn't absorbing water well. Note that the brown bit appears only at the tips or sides of the leaves - this happens when the plant did not receive water for a bit and suddenly had a good watering. The cells at the tips suddenly bulges and bursts when the plant takes in water at a very fast rate...

Judging from the rest of the leaves, your plant has already recovered. - So not too worry. Just water consistently and it will be fine. This was just a matter of transplant shock.

You have a nice big-leaf hydrangea there. It's not a peegee. I normally water my plants once a day during the dry periods. Also, in agreement with Mary Jane, water well for the first few weeks until the plant has established itself.

Thanks for the info. I have another hydrangea that looks like it is dead. I will take a picture and post it and maybe you can help me understand what happened to it. It was here when I moved in and bloomed last year but it is not doing well now.