Did you leave the roots exposed to air for a long period? It doesn't take much. It also looks like you may have removed too many feeder roots in the process.

If you scratch the tree with your fingernail, is it green?

ive bare rooted and repotted all but one of my ficus (waiting till June for the large one) none have dropped a single leaf. They all went from a peat based soil to the 5:1:1 mix. They all put out a flush of new growth within a week after repotting.

Dave,

Firstly, thank you for the quick response! Regarding the roots drying out, I truly do not think they had a chance to dry out while repotting, between rinsing and spraying off all the roots. I kept them quite moist. My timing could have played a role though too, as it was done at a less than ideal time. Do you have any suggestions on how to remove/dissolve the dried salts from the trees bark? Rinsing with water was only slightly effective.

I'm truly hoping the tree pulls through, but will take it as a learning lesson either way! I'll check the scratch technique tonight and see if she's still green.

Thanks again!

Your ginseng ficus develops roots well-adapted to storage of water and nutrients to keep it viable during lean times. Because of this, the tree can survive for quite some time with a severely compromised root system, which is probably the reason your tree is still viable in view of the recent cultural conditions it was dealing with. I'm pretty confident your tree will start a gradual return to good health now. Keep it warm and in very bright light. Fertilize regularly and make sure you water often enough to keep the existing crop of roots moist. I think I'd add a little more soil to the pot for the time being, and maybe mulch with something you can easily remove later. If it was my tree, I'd cover the surface with a layer of shredded sphagnum moss (not peat).

Tip: After the tree regains a good measure of vitality, consider reducing all those branches emerging at the same ht where the tree was chopped to 1 branch, or make one side the leader and the other side the tree's first branch. Left as is, your tree will look like a slingshot and develop a huge swelling (and reverse taper) at that point. The only way to fix that after the fact would be to chop it again very low on the plant below the reverse taper - just above the root flare.

Al