I don’t remember all the data; but about 15 years ago I was helping a friend at her nursery zip up trees/shrubs for the winter. We made a small corral from straw bales and put everything inside. Then stuffed straw between the pots and a short layer on top of the dirt. Most all the plants were good the following spring. So perhaps these clearance trees could be potted and overwintered in a straw crib.
Many folks don’t believe it, but you can haggle some with Walmart! When they out the grapes and berries on clearance, I go in with an offer like 50 cents per plant. Telling them that Goes for something dead looking or not. Often the plant is still alive in the root area. These I plant in a holding area with shade cloth and are babied to see which will pull out and grow and others will die. But at 50 cents each, getting half to live is still a bargain. Sometimes the survivors grow great and other times their growth is stunted.
My opinion is you’ll get what you pay for. You could luck out and get a good plant but you’re also buying something that has been picked over for months.
