It could be either or a combination. Too much sun in mid-summer, too little moisture, too much summer heat, too much wind can all intermix and cause the browning of the blooms. To top it off, it can also be temporarily caused by transplant shock (that is, the root system is now too small and cannot supply enough moisture yet; not used to the conditions in your garden, etc) or it can be caused by the wholesaler making the plant bloom too early. All this makes it really difficult to tell if you need to move it elsewhere.

If you live in the northern states, the shrub may eventually develop a root system capable of preventing browning of the blooms but if you live in the mid-to-southern half of the country then I would transplant it now. May I ask where do you live? Have you seen any hydrangeas in your city planted under similar conditions (they get sun from 11am until 4pm)?

If you live say like in the northeast, I would wait it out and only decide to transplant this year if the leaves shown signs of sunscorch (the leaves in direct contact with the sun turn all yellowish or whiteish - including the leaf veins). Then decide to transplant it next summer if it continues having problems.

If you wait it out, maintain the soil evenly moist with no periods of dryness, followed by moist soil, by dryness again, etc. Maintain 3-4" of mulch and decide to transplant it next year if the problem arises again. Sign of insufficient soil moisture: the edges of the leaves start to brown out and eventually the whole leaf browns out.

Forever and Ever is a macrophylla and macs like morning sun and afternoon shade. I have forever and ever in full sun and the flowers turn brown around the edges and growth is stunted. Also I've noticed that overhead watering and hydrangeas don't mix. Water gets on the flower heads and the petals turn brown with the heat of the sun.

It might be better in the long run to move it to a shadier location. I'm moving mine in the fall and planting a Vanilla Strawberry Hydrangea.

Thank you for the advise. I live in Southern Illinois. I wouldn't have normally planted mid July but I found these 50% off, so I gave in. I planted two ES BB 5 years ago. They get a few hours afternoon sun & that's all. I have noticed the leaves lightening like you described. Do you think their root system is too large to transplant next spring? If you can't tell, I'm kinda new to this.

Move the hydrangea to semi-shade (especially protect from afternoon sun--early morning sun is fine). Then plant a paniculata hydrangea in the current spot. Any hydrangea with the word "paniculata" in its name can easily take the hot afternoon sun. However, be forewarned: paniculata hydrangeas bloom the last half of the summer, whereas the other hydrangeas you were talking about bloom during the first half of the summer.

Don't worry about root systems being too large to move. Once you have transplanted the hydrangea, monitor its water needs carefully--it needs lots of water to build up that root system.

Good luck.

Kate

Hydrangea don't like wet feet so your comment about watering religiously every morning is likely an issue (unless you have very sandy soil).

Also I don't think you have to move it if it only gets sun from 11am to 4pm in IL. The heat could be an issue for it right now though.