Extreme heat is causing the flowers to "age" quickly....browning on the leaves is also caused by the heat. The flowers will last longer in cooler weather. What does everyone else think?

I would vote with moisture and heat. Now -summer- is the perfect time
for these types of i browning issues. But no, it is not going dormant.

When the plant is not getting enough moisture, the leaf edges will
brown out inwards and the flowers will also brown out too. To much sun
causes the leaves in direct contact with the sun to turn all yellow,
including the leaf veins. Very common in my area and the shrub does look
kind of weird when this happens.

If you use drip like I do, the problem can be acute as the
temperatures rise in the summer (mid 90s and above). I find that drip is not a very
effective method of irrigating hydrangeas when I place a single hose
only -like I did at first-. The other side away from the hose does not
give much moisture to the roots that are in the top 4" or so. So I
suggest adding more hoses in a square or semi-circular shape around the
bush. But even that, past a certain point temperature-wise, they do not
supply enough moisture to the thin roots near the top and I end up
having to use drip 3-4 times a week and still get drooping on some days. But if I water by hand with a hose on weekends and use drip 2 times a week during the middle of the week, drooping is greatly reduced for me even though temps stay in the 100s daily until 10pm-12am. So as soon as I discover
that they are drooping (happened last weekend), I know I am soon going to
have to begin watering by hand on weekends. And once we are in the 100s daily thru
September, for sure. Maintain 3-4" of mulch and give them about 1.5
gallons of water per bush in the summer. Give the shrub more water once the shrub gets much
larger in future years. If you decide to try watering by hand, water from the crown outwards early in the mornings.

Thank you all for your feedback. And here I thought I had planted it in an ideal spot since it gets only morning sun and has been looking so beautiful. :-) What's odd is despite the browning, the leaves still look lush and it's not drooping.

I've put up an umbrella in that area of my yard for more shade. I am also working on getting it extra water so we'll see if that helps. I suppose if it doesn't and they continue to brown I will need to deadhead those blooms…

Thanks again, everyone.

Keep it monitored thru its first summer and keep the soil as evenly moist as possible. 3-4" of mulch helps. The leaf and bloom browning will not repair itself but it should not get much worse. Give it 1.5 gallons of water per watering during the summer (1g in Spring and in the Fall when the temps go down; you can switch to watering every 2 weeks or once a week in dry winters).

I live on Long Island.We purchased a potted hydrangea from the local nursery in the middle of July. We transplanted it to a flower bed in the front of our home which faces north. .It doesn't get much morning sun but gets most sun in late afternoon. We water it every day since we have had little or no rain this summer and Temps in the high 80's. Blooms have died a

Hydrangeas purchased on year one can suffer from transplant shock on years 1-3. The leaves are used to being in greenhouses and not outside in the sun. Getting the warmest of the sun's rays in the afternoon does not help so either consider shading it or transplanting it. Probably shading it on its first summer will suffice and then consider transplanting if it remains an issue in future summers. Many hydrangeas in the NE can get full sun but normally, these are understory tree shrubs so morning sun and afternoon shade will be appreciated anywhere.

The blooms will also react to uneven watering and too much sun by browning. In time, the hydrangea blooms fade and begin a series of color changes that ends in brown. Feel free to deadhead them if you so prefer. Some people leave them for winter interest during the winter months as they will eventually fall on their own (or you deadhead them in Spring if they still are there).

Thankyou