" What is wrong with my Bobo hydrangeas?"

Probably nothing :-) A lot of factors can affect the late season color changes on panicle hydrangeas, including being newly/first year planted. And Bobo is not known for developing intense color change anyway. At most, it will turn a light beigey-mauve - no deep pink.

If the brown, dried flowerheads distress you, just cut them off. The best later season color will develop with maximum sun exposure and attention to watering. And some time to establish and mature.

btw, Prove Winners is not the breeder of this variety. They are only a distributor/resaler.

Thank you, gardengal. I would be thrilled if they would have aged to a beigy mauve. No beigy mauve here- just an ugly brown. The only thing I can think of is that I had the people who put the irrigation system in; put mist heads in most of the beds around the house. Not sure if this is a factor- I sure hope it isn't. But all summer the mist heads were working about every other day, and the panicles were beautiful creamy white.So the plants received adequate water. They are on the north side of the house. I thought Proven Winners was the breeder. I even said in my email to them that I thought they had not put enough time into growing these Bobos in test gardens- they are that ugly.

Misting of blooms and leaves might promote some fungal diseases in hydrangeas; better to avoid misting and overhead watering and use soaker hoses or drip irrigation instead. High temperatures or not enough soil moisture can cause early bloom browning. After warering, ensure the soils feels moist at a depth of about 8” in several spots under the canopy. Maintain 3-4” of mulch past the drip line.

Bobo has been on the market for quite a while (patent was filed in 2010). It was bred in Europe. My experience is the same as stated above. Flower againg on Hydrangea paniculata gets better as they establish and even with adequate moisture the first summer they may not do as advertised.

Thanks, All. We were considering taking them out, but have decided to leave them and give them some time. I really didn't want to take them out, as I was after a monochromatic look in the front of our house; green with white. We have two false cypress, "wee willy" boxwood, the Bobo hydrangea, Japanese forest grass, Beech ferns and Blue eyed grass. It was beautiful in the summer. Hopefully the Bobo hydrangea settle down with time and do what they are supposed to do in late summer. It was so strange, they turned brown really early, like in early to mid August.