For one, you'd need to open those shades and place it directly up in front of the window. If the window doesn't face south (if you're in the northern hemisphere), you should place it in a southern facing window.

I'll wait for you to respond to the questions at your convenience. We can help you more when you add that info.

I water once a week and wait for the top soil to dry. I use about 2 cups of water. I repotted last month. There were about four stems and they were connected together in a root ball. I figured there might have been over crowding so I tried to separate the plants into two pairs. One pair died and I figured the pot was just too deep and I may have damaged some roots. This plant was dong well for two weeks and since two weeks ago all the leaves started falling off. I place it at an east facing window. I live in San Francisco. I added regular potting soil and removed the old soil.

The plant seems to still be holding onto one leaf. I was told by some gardeners that if this last leaf falls of then the plant is dead. I notice that the soil is still very moist and its almost been a week since I watered.

If the leaf does fall off, is there a chance that I can still save the plant? Perhaps repot or cut down some roots? It is still connected to the other stem which died already. Any advice for this beginner would be super helpful. Thank you!!

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that 2 cups is way too little water for such a large pot. You should water until about 1/4 of the water comes out the bottom of the pot. Make sure all of the soil is saturated then drain the water out of the saucer. I am also going to agree that it doesn't have enough light either. It is way too far away from your window and the blinds can't be pulled. It needs to be in a south facing window, about a foot away from the glass in the northern hemisphere and a North facing window if you are down under.

...... not making a diagnosis, just noting it could be that the plant is planted much too deep. Cambial tissues need oxygen to enter and other gases to exit through little openings in the periderm called lenticels. Often, if this exchange can't happen, the cambium dies, which means the flow of water, nutrients, and photosynthate is interrupted.

If you'd like some basic information about ficus in particular and growing in containers in general, let me know and I'll provide links I think you'll find helpful.

Al

Thank you Al, Dave and Mentha! I really appreciate the advice. I'll try to move the plant for more light.

As for ficus care, I would love to geek out more on care. This plant won't be the last ficus I will own. I'll try to move this plant to a smaller pot becuase it does seem deep. I hope this last leaf won't fall off.

And just confirming, if all the leaves from my ficus falls off, does that mean the plant has no chance of survival (photosynthesis/etc). I don't want to give up on this plant just yet!

"Things" often happen to ficus in situ that cause defoliation. Most commonly it's drought. If the tree has enough reserve energy to push a new flush of growth or at least get a few leaves beyond the 75% mature stage, the plant is likely to survive. In all honesty, I don't think your plant has that sort of stored energy, but you're coming into better times, so you might pull it off. Do try. I often defoliate ficus purposely to slow down their growth, make leaves smaller, and force abundant back-budding.

More about the basics here.

More about ficus care in particular here. Don't be concerned the ficus cultural guide was written about F benjamina - care of elastica is essentially the same.

Al

A couple observations/next steps.

I just repotted and removed the other stem and roots that were somewhat connected to each other. I hope this helps with oxygen and receiving nutrients.

I noticed that the bottom of the stem is soft/wet (1st picture) but still looking shriveled up. While repotting, the soil was still damp and dark. Any idea if it's too much water/too little?

Near the leaf, I noticed a black shriveled up area (2nd picture). Can someone explain what might be happening/what this tree is going through? Feel bad for the fella.

I hope a smaller pot will be more cozy. Definitely a better fit than the previous pot. Plant is now at the South facing window.

Fingers crossed!

The black shriveled area is a sure sign of rot. I don't know that one will make it, unfortunately.