Yes, this is perfectly normal albeit a little late in the season. Hydrangeas are deciduos so in the winter months, the leaves will turn colors and dry out (they are dry when the leaves brown out). As the leaves change colors, you will see areas where they develop fungal infections called leaf spots. These tend to be reddish, purplish, round.... colored areas other than green. These leaves can be tossed in the trash when they dry out so the spores will not spread. You can reduce this problem in future years by doing no overhead watering and keeping the area under the plant free of plant debris (you should only see the mulch).

Is the soil actually moist when you stick a finger in? Sometimes when potting soil gets dry, it actually repels water due to the high peat content and so water runs down the outside of the rootball instead of soaking in. If this is the case (dry soil) then submerge the whole pot in water until it stops giving off bubbles. Then remove and let drain. How cold did it get last night? Hydrangeas are frost sensitive, so if you are in an area with cold weather, it might have gotten too cold. If that is the case, you will just have to keep the soil slightly moist, bring it in at night and put out where it gets morning sun only, and continue this until after danger of frost has passed. Leaves and flowers will either recover or die, and you can remove anything that dies once it is clear it won't recover. If you put it out in full sun and it was (almost certainly) greenhouse grown, it may have gotten too much sun, too suddenly. These are part shade plants, preferably morning sun and afternoon shade when it's hotter, but all plants need an adjustment period going from indoor or greenhouse conditions to outdoors. Start with bright shade and give it a little more sun each day over the next couple of weeks until it has adjusted. For care if it was sunburned, similarly to frost damage, leaves and flowers will either recover or die (depending on severity of damage), and you can remove anything that dies once it is clear it won't recover. Where are you generally (state and nearest large city)? In my area, this type of hydrangea (bigleaf hydrangea, Hydrangea macrophylla) isn't fully hardy so is best grown in pots and overwintered in a building such as a garage that stays around freezing in winter.

I also have the same problem with FE Series "Double Pink" I didnt bring it up because I didnt want to confuse anyone. I bought the Double pink with a few blooms on it and didnt have an excuse why it wasnt blooming. I went to FE website and noticed the Double Pink is no longer offered and neither is Red Sensation. Their Red Hydrangea is simply called "Red" now. Seems both Red Sensation & Double Pink have been discontinued. I feel like a test dummy...lol...leaves a bad taste in my mouth to ever buy a FE Hydrangea again. I dont want to spend years again waiting for a hydrangea to bloom, just to find out it was a dud. They have months left at best in my yard if they dont produce here soon and my money is on they wont. I have 5 Hydrangeas in pots I winterize already and dont want more in pots. I bought them to be planted in my yard...lol... Thank you for bringing it to my attention that it was a new cultivar and prompted me to check their website. I would never buy a FE Hydrangea unless it was in bloom to prove what it is. Along with checking on the web that others in colder climates have had success with that particular one. I have multiple years success with FE Series: FE Original, Blue Heaven, Peppermint & Together. Summer lace I bought last year and seems to have proven to be worthy also. Rebloomed last year and has put buds on new growth this year also. I see FE has many new exciting Hydrangeas I didnt know they offered now, but I wont be their test dummy again. It's a shame they apparently rushed hydrangeas to market that werent proven and I wont take that chance again.

If they were mine, I would remove all the fabric. The bed will get weeds as seeds blow in from other places, and when the roots reach the fabric, they become difficult to remove. If any is exposed to light it breaks down. It also interferes with movement of water, nutrients, and air to and from the soil, so isn’t good for plants. It can be useful under paths, but I never use it in garden spaces and usually use a combination of mulch and groundcovers under shrubs. Where my DH used some without my knowledge, it is so grown into with roots that I cannot remove it. Here is a search for landscape fabric in the perennials forum for you to check out others’ experience, but it is equally a problem with shrubs. https://www.gardenweb.com/gardenweb/query/“Landscape-fabric”/topic=peren https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/1626279/what-size-hole-for-perennials-in-landscape-fabric?n=22 Watching water and soil moisture carefully may help with the scorching (check both the original rootball and the surrounding soil), and you can give them temporary shade screens until they settle in more, but I think that they will continue to be unhappy in that much afternoon sun in zone 6 unless you are north of me. Aesthetically, an unhappy plant is pretty much a bust, so the first requirement is to meet their needs. There are panicled hydrangeas that would likely be fine in afternoon sun. My Hydrangea paniculata shrubs in central NH get sun almost from sun up to sundown, and there are cultivars to suit most size needs. They all start tinted green, turn white, and then end pink to tan, but different cultivars spend different time in each color, and the intensity of pink and size and shape of bloom clusters varies.