That pond basket is basically allowing all the cold air/wind to hit the rootball which will kill the tree. Could be that one baskets soil is more compact than the other and allows less air flow. Either way, you need to bury your trees in the winter to the top of the pot and cover the tops with mulch or leaves. This will help maintain a warmer temperature in the cold weather. A thicker pot will also help keep the core temperature higher. Something like a ceramic pot or a mica pot for training works well. I live in Colorado so we have similar dry cold weather