I took them out on a cloudy day over the weekend, then it rained until Tuesday. It has been HHH for 3 days, and I soaked them this morning for about 2 minutes each with a good stream (not one that would dig a hole in the dirt, but high spray). I can see that the shastas (in a more shallow pot) dried out nearly completely, but I guess I didn't realize they'd die in only TWO days of the heat (Heat is defined as not over 90 degrees, but humid.) The other two are in 2 gallon (maybe bigger; I don't know the OFFICIAL sizes of nursery pots) pots, and were still damp to the touch, not crusty-dry like the shastas.

Unfortunately, you have completely planted your citrus trees incorrectly. When properly planting a citrus tree, you need to dig a hole the same size as the tree's root ball, and no larger. Further no soil amendments, such as peat moss, potting soil, compost or the like should ever be added to the soil. When you dug a large hole you created a large water holding basin. Every time you watered the tree you were filling the basin with water creating a lake that the trees root system was submerged in, depriving the roots of oxygen. Citrus roots easily develop root rot under these conditions. If you extract the tree from the soil you will see the destruction (rot) of the root system. Regretfully, this happens on a more or less frequent basis. When a citrus tree is planted in a hole that just fits the root ball, no lake is formed. Hopefully there is still time to save the trees by removing them and examining tree roots, removing all the rot and replanting correctly.

Fall is not the ideal time to prune any hydrangea, especially those that are very well established. However, H. paniculata is very forgiving to severe pruning and should bounce back, winter weather conditions aside (see below). And since it blooms on new growth, flowering should not be overly impacted, either. If these are standard or tree-form PeeGees, you have obviously lost that attribute and the single trunk nature of these types of hydrangeas put them at much greater risk of permanent damage. I've noticed here and on the Shrubs forum various inquiries about pruning in fall and winter. Shrubs are not like herbaceous perennials and really do not appreciate a "fall/winter clean-up" hair cut. The woody stems of these plants actually offer a large degree of winter cold protection. Cutting back that far into fresh tissue before the onset of really cold weather exposes that tissue to temperatures it may not be able to tolerate. Depending on their bloom habit and cycle, deciduous shrubs should be pruned in late winter or early spring as new growth emerges, primarily to remove wood that has died over winter, but also to shape or maintain size. Or immediately after bloom, for those species that bloom on old wood. Evergreen shrubs can be a bit more accommodating as their dormancy is less pronounced, but ideally, they also should be left until new growth is evident or according to their specific bloom habit.

Beardeds don't look so hot this time of year! Outer leaves of the fan dying and sometimes the remaining ones looking 1/2 wilted. Allow the soil to dry between soaks. One inch of soil sounds like too much. I have read of a light covering of soil in extremely hot, sunny climates. Scrape off the soil and they'll be fine for relocation next spring if no prolonged flooding occurs! Drainage is the name of the game!