And I hate that these photos are sideways. :/

The F lyrata doesn't look like a F lyrata to me, but that's a secondary point.

If you're sure the top of 1 plant is dead, there's no harm in removing the entire top. Cut through the stem halfway between the highest leaf you want to keep and the lowest leaf you're pruning off. That stub will die back to the live leaf and you can remove it cleanly later.

I wouldn't do any repotting at this point. It's the wrong time of year to repot (especially a plant that's just been highly stressed). You should get used to working WITH the plant so you can play to its strengths and avoid doing anything serious during the months when the plant is wanting to rest.

If I had to itemized the things that would be best for the plant, I would say

* Wait and see what happens before you do anything rash. Don't remove any foliage other than the top of the one plant. Don't repot.

* Keep the plant warm (65-85*) and be very careful not to overwater. Check the soil deep in the pot with a wood dowel sharpened in a pencil sharpener. If it comes out wed/ muddy, cool on your wrist - wait to water until it comes out clean and dry. Over-watering a plant with a dysfunctional canopy is an invitation to root rot.

* As soon as temps allow, move the plants outdoors. Allow them to recover. Repot w/o pruning around Father's Day and prune (if you like) a few weeks later when normal growth has resumed.

If you like, we can talk about fertilizing and/or appropriate soils .......

Al

@tapla I'm all ears. I wondered if repotting would be too rash - thanks for the advice!

I called my grandpa who has 60+ years horticulture/landscaping experience and he had me check for mites on the rubber plant by tapping over a white piece of paper and sure enough. Tiny black dots fell off and they smear on the paper.

What's your advice on soil and fertilizing? I have a one-year-old and a dog, so I'd prefer something organic and non-toxic if possible.

NOT an f. lyrata?!?! So sad. Any ID ideas?

I missed the 4th picture from the top, which shows the leaf arrangement to be 'opposite' (leaves arranged in pairs on opposite sides of the branch). Ficus leaves are alternate (arranged singly along the stem in alternating locations). So whatever it is, it's not a Ficus. Some good Samaritan who's better at IDs than I, will come along and tell you what it is.

Your soil should be something you can water to beyond the saturation point (so you're flushing accumulating salts from the soil) without the need to worry the soil will stay soggy so long it affects root health or function. Your soil choice is probably going to have more impact on how easy/ difficult it will be to keep your new pals healthy. I'm not sure how much effort you want to put into learning about the importance of soil choice and it's impact on plant vitality; if you're interested this link covers it, and probably represents the largest step forward a container gardener can take at any one time.

The
goal for fertilizing containerized plants can easily be described. Ideally, we
would work toward ensuring that all the nutrients plants normally secure from
the soil are in the soil solution at all times, in the ratio at which the plant
actually uses the nutrients, and at a concentration high enough to ensure no
deficiencies yet low enough to ensure the plant isn't impeded in its ability to
take up water and the nutrients dissolved in water. This goal is easily
achievable using one water soluble synthetic fertilizer. You CAN use organic
forms of nutrition, like fish/seaweed emulsions or various types of meal, but
that makes it much more difficult to achieve the goal. I use Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 because it has ALL the essential nutrients in the ratio at which plants actually use the nutrients, and it gets most of its N from nitrate sources, which helps to allow plants in low light conditions to remain compact and helps keep them from getting leggy.

Al

With the compound leaves on the first one I think you got a Schefflera.

For a natural liquid fert you can't beat Botanicare Pure Blend Pro Grow.