Collecting After-care

Caleb Stewart, collector

Would bag collected trees
Make sure they get little to no sun when bagged.
Make sure the condensation is heavy inside the bag. If it's light condensation, i'll open the bag and spray it.
I end up spraying inside the bag about once a week.
I have small drainage holes in the bottom of the bag in case water pools in the bag.
I haven’t opened it for fresh air only before, unless i want to smell a tree (like with pines or firs, delightful!)
Reverse bag, open on the bottom and tie the bag to the trunk—exposing the soil to air.
Use a bungee cord to lift up the top of the bag off the tree.

Suggestion on one tree: defoliate the redbud, cut it back aways, and still bag it.
Some people on Reddit have disagreed with me on the defoliation technique, but I have made it work a few times successfully, and once unsuccessfully. You can do whatever you like, and as you see some trees survive and some die, you'll get a feel of what to do.
If you bag it, remember to make sure that the bag always stays wet on the inside / has condensation on it.
Regardless of whether or not you choose to defoliate the redbud, if you see any wilting of the leaves for either tree, I would bag it.
Especially so with the live oak. Oaks have given me trouble. I'm guessing that redbud is going to have a hard time, given its size and the amount of leaves it has on it. Hope this helps.
A 50% survival rate is a good rate!

If leaves are green, good
If leaves fall off, that is a sign that the tree wants to shed under stress, but if brown but prolonged attachment, the branch may be dead and unable to shed leaves.

Aug update—Oak (brown leaves, now defoliated, moved over heat mat)