More pics

Pull it and check the roots. If they are okay, put it in a pot to keep it going until you have a good spot for it this fall.

My LA Dreaming looked pretty good this summer despite the heat.

I don't take many pictures of it since it is on the other side of the locked fence.

LA Dreaming in front and Purple Princess in back (they look the same to me) last month.

Faded blooms this month.

It's the middle of summer....if ur warranty is good for another 11 months , I'd just leave it alone, keep it watered and skip another transplant shock

New hydrangea. Middle of the summer. Temperatures are high. Not used to this much sunlight. Getting drying summer winds... All this causes heat stress and mopheads in Year 1 will sulk a lot. Wilting is common. Blooms may brown out early (cut them if you wish).

The roots cannot absorb water as fast as the leaves loose moisture so the leaves wilt until the evening when they perk up provided that the soil is moist enough.

Make sure you cranked up the water when Summer started. They need more water then. Insert a finger into the soil to a depth of 4" to see if the soil feels dry, moist or wet. If it feels dry or almost dry then give them water. Start with 1 gallon in Spring and 1.5-2 in the Summer (when temperatures stay generally above 85F). Tweak to compensate for your soil type. Say: add more water if your soil is sandy. When done watering, you should feel the soil moist to a depth of 8"; if not, consider watering more. When temperatures come down in the Fall, the revert back to Spring watering levels. When the plant goes dormant in the Fall, water once a week or once every two weeks depending on local rains. Stop watering when the soil freezes. Restart watering when you see leaf out.

Feel free to cover them with an umbrella or an outside chair. Protects them from the sun but you still get heat stress from the high temperatures and drying winds. Not that much you can do about those.

In future years, the root system will be larger and mopheads will be able to handle the heat stress. But do expect some wilting and such on the hottest parts of the Summer.

Limelight is a different species of hydrangea (panicled) that enjoys more sun and prefers less water than LA Dreaming which is a big leafed hydrangea. LA Dreaming prefers morning only sun, even in my more northern zone, while here panicled hydrangea are fine with all day sun. I would give your plant shade from something like a strategically placed outdoor chair until early fall and then move the plant to a spot with shade in the afternoon.

None of the hydrangeas get all that much sun. The LAD particularly, it is next to the house on the northwest corner, and the west side of my house gets a lot of shade from trees.

I am concerned that I have overwatered it in my clay. The limelights have had yellowing and dropping inner leaves all season, which I think is also from overwatering.

Anyway, here is an updated pic of the LAD, looking much worse.

How long have the Limelights been there? How moist does the soil feel for each kind of hydrangea if you actually check with your fingers several inches down? Check both the original root ball and the surrounding soil. Often in clay soil there is an issue with water movement, and when you water it puddles around the original root ball and doesn’t drain well enough for the roots to get oxygen. Did you do any bed prep before planting or add supplemental material to the planting hole?

Even in my well drained soil I haven’t watered my panicled hydrangeas since they were established and they have not blinked at 6 weeks of drought. So they really prefer things drier than the big leafed hydrangeas.

I think I would dig up the LAD and put it in a pot in bright shade and keep a close eye on water. Replant in the fall.

I also recommend digging up the LAD, dump it in a pail of water until it stops bubbling air, pot it and keep the pot in bright full shade and away from winds. Select a spot where it gets morning sun only (until 11am or before then).

When potted, check the potting soil moisture daily and water if a finger inserted 2" deep into the mix feels dry. If the potting mix feels moist or wet then do not water. Make sure when you water that the potting mix gets water at least 8" deep or so. Water again if it does not. Make sure that the pot's water drainage holes are not obstructed.

To be honest, I am too lazy to follow the earlier recommendations of potting the plant and putting in shade. As you can see it is even worse now.

My question is, is there a reasonable chance this thing will live and rebloom next year? I have a one year guarantee. I could return it right now, or just let it remain as is, if there is a good chance it will thrive next year.

I am watering it about 1 gallon twice a week. It is clay and stays pretty wet if I water more than that.

It is very close to the house and only gets a couple hours of direct sun, it is usually shaded from the house.

My wife picked that one out because she likes the muticolor.

Do you think it is better to plant a new one now or wait til fall or spring?

Ugh, not plant a new one now (as in not in the middle of the summer). I would wait until temperatures moderate. But since your temps are (afterwards) going to tank during winter and a new plant will not be used to Michigan cold winters, I wonder if Spring may be a better planting time than in the Fall? I would play it safe and wait until Spring but... when would you return it and when would you go get a new one? will they (the plant nursery) have the plant in stock at that time?

I am having to water more than 1 gallon each time that I water. This year, my summer temps are mild, just barely touching 100F or above (mostly in the 95-98F range) before they dip down. So they are still much different than you.

I have clay soil too and I give new ones 1 gallon of water per each plant in the Spring when they leaf out. Tweak the amount as needed. Try to water enough such that the soil gets moist down to 8" when you water. After Spring, I increase the amount of water to 2 gallons of water per each plant when temperatures here stay above 85F almost daily... Calendar-wise, that turns out to be in mid to late May for me but occurs in June-July for you. Then back down to 1 gallon of water per plant when temps moderate (July-August for you), meaning when temperatures are usually below 85F. Then water weekly or every two weeks, depending on local rains, once the plant goes dormant and browns out all leaves.

To know when to water, use the finger method: check the plant in the morning by inserting a finger into the soil to a depth of 4" and water if the soil feels like it is drying up or feels dry. This week it has been above 85F so I would water 2 gallons. Tweak that amount as needed.

With new hydrangeas, I like to water manually, especially if they are smaller than yours. I then water from the crown/base of the shrub outwards in all directions.

And which type of hydrangea are you planning to replace it with? A paniculata?

My guess it too much water. It was an incredibly long, cool, wet spring in Michigan and root rot may have set in. Also, if you are watering based on other fasting growing plants in the same area, this smaller, newly planted hydrangea can be over watered.