Ideas for preping muscadine vines for winter

[ThePlantGuy978]

I know it is a bit early, but due to the extremely cold winter I lost about 20% of my muscadine vines. They just didn't like the 4 degree nights.
Any one have any ideas as to what one can do to insulate the vines incase we get another cold winter next year?
My idea is to bubble wrap the trunks and to place a 3 gal. open bottom pot at the base fill with soil for extra protection from the cold.
What are your thoughts???

Hans

 

[garymc]

Don't fertilize late in the summer or water after the grapes ripen. I think the vines do something to protect themselves if the cold weather comes gradually. A sudden, early extreme cold spell, or a very late cold snap when they're trying to come out of dormancy seems to be as bad as just having some low temperatures during the winter. I had some cold weather in Missouri, coldest in decades, and lost some vines, too. I think I only lost about 10%, and they were all recently transplanted vines. I read in some university's research that you can pile dirt up around them for the winter to keep some kind of pest away, so your idea might work.