I normally would try to grow these small shrubs in a pot in bright shade before transplanting them to their outside location but, you probably have certain steps that should be followed in order for the nursery to agree to pay if the plants do not make it. So, I would stress to follow their directions.

I am not sure in what zone you are. Sounds like a warm place like mine if you are planting now.

I would provide some shade full time by putting a chair or some other object above the plant. This way it gets bright shade.

I would water from the crown outwards but not if the soil feels wet or moist. About a 1/3 to a gallon of water should be enough.

I would make sure it gets 2-4" of mulch year around up to the drip line.

I would not go crazy with fertilizers either. Maybe some liquid seaweed or liquid fish.

Wilting suggests that the leaves are losing moisture faster than the roots can absorb. It is possible that one of the plants has a root system that was cut too harshly when shipping and now, it cannot absorb as much moisture as the plant needs. And so, the leaves wilt. If the problem gets worse, I would expect the edges of the leaves to brown out inwards but, I could not tell from the picture. I did not see any browning of leaves but some may occur during transport/mail even if all is ok.

All I could tell is that the stems are quite small, new (look white-ish) and need TLC. So give the plant bright shade with whatever object you can find (umbrella, chair, etc) full time until the plant is older and the wood does not appear as white as in the pictures. And maintain the soil as evenly moist as possible. Begin watering close to the crown as there are not yet too many roots growing away from it.

Another alternative might be to put the plant in a pot and grow it there for a while until it is older and looks like it can handle things better. I typically like to do that and plant the shrubs in the Fall or the following year. And just so you do not forget to water a potted plant, see if you can put a weekly or biweekly reminder in some electronic calendar. Keep the potted plant in bright shade and move the pot around if the sun starts shining too much in its direction. Plant it when the shrub is older and the wood looks more dark or looks woody (you usually notice wood-y colors when the plant goes dormant in the Fall).

Good luck with the new "babies", Retro Love!

I'm in zone 9. The nursery instructions said to plant outside ASAP, which I did. But I have thought about putting it in a pot. When the plant arrived, there were some brown dead leaves, but again the instructions said to clip them off. So far, I haven't seen any browning. That could all change tomorrow, though. Thanks for the advice. If the nursery gets back to me soon, I may suggest potting it.

Ah, you should be fine planting outside. I am in Z8 and hit the 90s already. Weather.com released their guesses for March 2017 and it is going to be much warmer than average for the bottom layer of the country so, you probably/hopefully do not need to worry much about cold weather issues. :o)

First, let's not carried away by zones :-) I'm in a z9 location and it was snowing a few days ago!! All that mean is that we have mild winters........nothing to do with how early it warms up in spring or how hot it may get in summer.

Second, you say you received these plants by mail order. What did they look like when they arrived? Roots bare of soil or growing in a small container? IME, mail order plants are typically on the small side - much smaller than local nursery-sold stock - usually for shipping reasons. I find them usually too small to be planted directly into the garden and grow them on for a season in a container before planting in the ground.

If they were shipped as bare root - no soil or container, just the roots in some sort of protective covering - then I would strongly urge to pot up and grow on for a season. These plants tend to be overly stressed, both by removing them from any soil and by shipping. They almost always need a little coddling to bring them around - transplant shock is virtually a given unless still in full dormancy. And since yours are already in leaf, dormancy is long gone!

If you decide not to pot up, then I would do as luis suggested wrt protection from sun and just keep an eye on them. Do not over water......just keep the soil surrounding them slightly moist. No fertilizer - they don't need it and can't process it until they have established an active root system and that won't be until they have had some time growing in the ground or in a container.

Finally, you need to be patient. Mail order plants can take some time to recover from their traumas and recovery from any transplant shock can take longer than you expect. And once they recover you will still need to be patient :-) Climbing hydrangeas are very slow to begin growth and ever slower to reach a flowering size/age, sometimes as much as 10 years for tiny starts like yours.

They arrived in a small plastic pot filled with soil. When they arrived, some leaves were dead others were wilted. I took off the dead ones as indicated. It never sprung to life even for a day after planting. It just remained wilted.

I would just add to Bab's comments that unless it is something unusual that you cannot find locally, I would put mail order plant shopping as a last resort. These plants often arrive stressed from shipping and at inopportune times and are generally significantly smaller than the same plant sold in a local nursery. And if something not so rare - like a climbing hydrangea - it not being available in local nurseries in season may be an indication that it is not a plant that is well suited to your location and/or growing conditions. Just something to think about.............

Thanks all! I wish I could have gotten it from a local nursery like I do with the rest but they didn't even know what a climbing hydrangea was and I've researched it that it grows in my area. So I took a chance. You all gave great advice, here's hoping it comes back from its current state.

GG48, I haven't ever seen a climbing hydrangea less than an hour away in my relatively rural area, so while it is common in some areas, I honestly don't think I could have bought mine other than mail order. Some of us live in horticulturally impoverished regions!

Ok, the plant's remaining leaves have turned brown and are falling off. The nursery is sending me another one. I will pot it and put in bright shade when it arrives, thanks to you guys!

You can pot the existing one too, if you want to try and see what happens (maybe it will leaf out again). Sometimes, it is easier to control water problems when in pots. And you can move it around easily if the sun starts to hit it strong. So long as you do not forget about the potted plant of course! LOL!!!!