ok, 9 days after the transplant I think it is safe to say that some sort of recovery is indeed possible.
In the past few days they have gotten noticably active.

remember, they had almost no roots 9 days ago, after 5 weeks.

a copy from my grow log-
Abi and Donna definately are waking up.
whats more!? I looked underneath and both of these girls roots have gotten very busy since the transplant, they are showing healthy root at the drain holes!!!
I guess recovery from this terrible stunting is indeed possible.
I will leave them in the current pots until they develop more above ground.
I think the visible growth should start to catch up with the root development based upon their activity in the past few days. They are far more active than ever before.
not sure just how fast they will grow now, but, we'll see.

the recovering bonsai girls.




Rock.