I think you are pertaining to the PeeGee hydrangea tree (scientific name: hydrangea paniculata 'grandiflora'). You do not need to protect it from the winter. It is cold hardy even on zone 4 which is much colder than your zone. Let the branches bend down. They are naturally like that because the blooms are heavy for the tiny stems to support them. Do not fight against the law of gravity. Just like bamboos, they bend over the wind but don't necessarily break. In ten years, the branches will thicken and more and will prevent too much bending. The blooms do get somehow dry. Do you mean papery? Nothing wrong with it, some people think it is part of it's charm. Avoid putting wood mulches on the ground near it, the bug likes to dwell in moisty wood chips. I thought it was the tree too but after I remove the pine mulches on the tree, the bugs are gone.