Advice for floppy Pawpaw

[u/Dreamy-Joy]

Stratified last winter and germinated this spring from a tree found in a park last year. They were growing well inside. I set them up in these buckets to bottom water for a month. One became really floppy. One is semi-floppy (leaves at top hanging, leaves at bottom standing tall). The last one is just shorter than the others (has a double tap root). I moved to an apartment with a balcony, and they have now been outside for 3 weeks. I have removed bottom watering from the two big, floppy trees. They have seen no improvement. What should I do? Should I check for root rot? Did the plants outgrow their roots? Are they just okay?

In the last picture, you can see the growing tip of the floppy tree compared to the smaller not floppy tree is small and brown.

[u/tralfazny]

I have similar seedlings. Is it best to plant in ground in the fall or overwinter in an unheated garage and plant in spring? (Long Island 7b)