It looks like sunburn to me. Phals do not like direct sun on their leaves. If it is in a place where the sun hits it directly then I would move it.

This sounds like something I encounter annually usually late September in Houston on a few of my trees. It will cover the leaves, branches and terminal bud (all turn black). I believe it to be sooty mold. from linked article below: SOOTY MOLD (Capnodium spp., other genera) Signs/Symptoms: Sooty mold is the common name for several species of fungi that grow on the honeydew secretions of insects deposited on leaves and other plant parts. Scales, aphids, psyllids, and other insects that secrete honeydew can be responsible for sooty mold. Fungal mycelium is melanized (darkened), giving the appearance of soot covering the plant part. These fungi are ectoparasitic (growing on the surface) and will not infect plants. However, sunlight penetration is reduced and can result in stunted growth or yield reduction. Cultural Controls: Cultural practices that will manage insect populations responsible for honeydew secretions in plant parts should be implemented. Such practices may include careful pruning of affected plant parts, control of ants that protect the insects responsible for honeydew, and high pressure washing of tissue with water and, if possible, with soap. Chemical Controls: Use insecticides for control of ants and secretors of honeydew. I find this mostly on trees that are suffering from some other sort of environmental or parasitic stress. I have not noticed any additional damage to the trees or to their fruit production (as it usually occurs after fruit production) which I can attribute to the sooty mold. ~james Here is a link that might be useful: 2006 Florida Plant Disease Management Guide: Fig (Ficus carica)

I agree with Rick--I experienced this blackening myself--excessive moisture. Stratifying the media would be okay when growing plants in the ground, but for container-grown plants…I don’t know think so. For sure, leaf appearance is a good indicator of problems that are occurring or had occurred. I had this one adenium that I up-potted, and a few weeks later noticed the leaves were turning dark. On close inspection, I found that the plant was rotting—so I cut off the caudex and roots at the apex, applied rooting powder, and planted it. There was too much moisture and one of the plant's roots was damaged during the up-potting. This is an example of my experience of “problems that are occurring.” An example of “problems that had occurred”: My plants didn’t get water for 3 days and they were quite dry; I had held off watering because it seems every time I water, rain comes within a few hours. And so, it finally rained, and two days after the rain, I noticed that many of my plants had yellow leaves and were falling off. My observation is this: By the 3rd day, as a survival mechanism, the plant cut off water supply to the leaves to prevent water from transpiring. So even after a good drenching, the leaves were already dying and destined to drop. This had happened once before, so I know for sure the underlying cause for the yellow leaves--lack of moisture. -Kadie

:))))))) Yes, the pot has holes, I just don't water it now, hence no need for the plate. But the holes are there. What also happened is that my friend (who is supposed to be an expert with green thumb) put some plastic at the bottom of the cover/planter (that's how it's called?) and then we stuck the pot inside of it. When I was watering, the water would go out of the pot, but then get stuck in the plastic. So I feel the pot was sitting in the water. Then I removed it and stopped watering completely. Will try the trick with the teaspoon now. It's bloody expensive to keep killing them...I should have gone for cactus. ** Just checked the soil, it's not really wet, but moist, so I can feel the moisture, but not like really wet soil. And it goes down the entire finger -3-4 inches? But will definitely try to repot it asap. Would be good to check the roots.