Last picture is the bottom of the roots

you dont say where you are ... nor how long youve had it ...

i wouldnt expect you to see any difference in the plant until at least spring flush .. and would not be surprised by further winter browning ...

but for sure ... i would not be cutting anything further off until the spring flush shows you what is viable ...

start thinking in tree time ... not weeks or months ...

i like the watering suggestion above ... but once the peat rehydrates.. i would water it like a tree in a pot ... not like some water hog annual or perennial ...

ken

I bought it december 30th. I live in Los Angeles. I removed the leaves that day and left it in the heavy rain we had for 7 hours. Should I repot now or wait until winter passes? Or wait until it's not so stressed?

how does the weight of the pot and plant seem to you ... does it seem likes it is wet heavy ... if not.. soak it ..

what often happens ... is the the middle of what is left of the media never gets wet .... its because the media is worn out from the TREE being in the pot tooooo long.. and the root mass doesnt allow the free flow of water into the middle ... it just pools and runs down the sides.. where all the live roots just happen to be ... go figure.. the plant has figured it out..

for right now.. i would get it out of the sun ... full bright shade .. until we figure out what to do ... just some stress reduction ...

btw... you can probably root some 6 inch tip cuttings... in the proper season ....

i dont do CA.. so im would defer on the repotting to anyone more familiar with CA hort .... gal????

ken

PS: do you have somewhere to actually plant it in the ground ... part of me might want to plant it after some sever root surgery .... and perhaps repot it in fall .. but again.. CA and all ... just for perspective.. my ground froze last week .. lol.. no planting for me in january ...

It is heavier now. I was able to carry it out of the store with one arm when i bought it. I can plant it in the ground. That might be the best option for me to keep it alive. Will have to wait until next year to start any bonsai techniques on it. Thanks.

I would soak the plant for at least 24 hours. Then remove all the old potting material - if there is any and spread the roots out and replant in a large pot or in the ground. I gardened in CA for many years and am familiar with these issues. Yes, the plant is stressed but will recover if soaked. You will notice bubbles rising from the roots when it is in the deep water. This is where the water is replacing dry spots in the roots. If it were my plant, I would cut off all the brown twigs and pull as much of the roots that you can out of the root ball. If the circling roots don't want to get lose, I have used a fire hose and blasted them apart. Root pruning won't kill the plant - but will help in the recovery. Any damaged roots should be cut off to the closest healthy roots. This sounds drastic, but I have resuscitated many plants that looked worse than yours. Of course you want to keep it in the shade and NO direct sun for several months. Don't worry about root rot from soaking in a bucket of water! Root rot is a disease carried in the soil - not water.