Drought test in lieu of a cold test

[Advective]

When growing multiple potted seedlings of the same species to determine which plant has the best cold hardy genetics, it can be difficult to get an optimal test. You have to wait for winter and hope you get a low that's cold enough to expose weaklings but not too cold to wipe out everything. My test from last winter ended up being too severe and nothing survived. Not good.

A drought test would be much easier to conduct but is it a worthwhile substitute for a cold test? They are similar in that the plant is deprived of water, either by freeze or a lack thereof in general.

For example, take 5-10 one-gallon seedlings using a consistent soil and stop watering until there's a clear, hasn't-wilted-yet winner.

[Allen]

Drought test doesn't make sense to me.  Even testing plants for surviving cold doesn't seem foolproof as one that lives thru one cold event may die in the next.