My hydrangeas go against everything that's been said here.I have them on both the west side of the house and the north side.They bloom their fool heads off in both places.I've also had them on the east side and the south side and both of those places were too hot and too much sun for mine. maybe the fact that I'm along the coast,and get a canyon breeze makes a difference,i don't know. What I do is move things around until I find the spot they do well in,and that's where they stay. If you put my name as it's posted here into the search box,you should be able to see pictures of mine. Kathi

Looks like they are suffering from transplant shock. Very common on newly planted shrubs and expected when you plant new ones in the middle of the summer. If they get too much sunlight, the leaves in direct contact with the sun will turn all yellow, including the leaf veins. So, these guys look like went from a comfortable shady spot at Lowes to a more sunny and hot spot in your garden. Going forward, I suggest you transition them slowly into sunny areas: say, buy them in the summer, keep them in bright shade until summer temps have come down and plant them in the Fall. When the big leaves on these guys started to loose moisture faster than the roots could absorb water, the leaves wilted. As this condition got more intense by not being used to the hot outside, the leaves dried out from the edges inwards and some sections now look brown. The wilted leaves should normally recover on their own if you keep the soil moist. Usually they recover either by nighttime or by the next morning. If they have not recovered then test the soil to see if it needs water. But keep a close eye on the soil moisture levels in the middle of the summer and water as often as needed. Do not forget that pots get hot when hit by either morning or afternoon summer sun. Completely dried out leaves can be cut off but I would leave the partially browned out ones. If it bugs you, you can squish the brown out parts so they are not so obvious. Dried out leaves will not recover but the shrub sometimes generates new ones either now, in the Fall or as late as Spring 2016. Any location where they get morning sun until 11am or so (approximately) is probably ok. Locations that get some sun in the afternoon might work too but you have to "test" them to see and mid-July was probably a jolt to them. In the northern states, they can get full sun but, I still would not "introduce to the outside" in the middle of the summer. :o) I had one hydrangea that lost all leaves due to watering issue (not potted but planted in the ground). This happened near the end of the growing season. I maintained the soil moist and well mulched. It looked worse than yours. While it did not produce new leaves that season, the roots were fine and made it leaf out in the Spring like nothing had happened. Enjoy, the Mini Penny Hydrangeas. I almost got some myself at another store.

I might wrap the sides of the pot in bubble wrap (which you can cover with something for aesthetics if so desired) to minimize temperature swings. The plant should be fully hardy in a sheltered spot in a pot in your zone, but by keeping the soil temperature even, it will be less stressful to the plant and should decrease the likelihood of early leaf-out if you have a brief mid- to late-winter warm spell. Without being sheltered by large volumes of soil like in-ground plants, the soil in a pot tends to freeze and thaw repeatedly over the winter, which isn't particularly good for the plant. Hence the suggestion for insulation. The goal would be to have the soil lightly moist, not dry and not soggy. How often the watering is needed depends on how dry the air is, what the temperature is, etc., so you really have to establish how moist the soil is by sticking your finger into the soil a few inches. IME H. paniculata cultivars like Little Lime really don't like wet soil, so you want to avoid that.

Your plant has a few flowers, I am sorry that there aren’t many more. My plant also still looks the same as it did when everyone else’s started their show. Just leaves only. I had some tiny yellow leaves in the middle of the plant and I removed them and cleaned up what fell into the planter this past week. I have noticed a few brown spots on a few of the leaves too. I don’t know what that is. Is it the container that cause them to struggle? I never pruned my plant and it is 2 yrs old now. It is full like yours. I added a bit of a CRF at the start of spring and worked it into the topsoil. What can we do for next year?