Did you read through this thread? These are moisture loving plants & I know I have personally stated in this thread that I've only succeeded in growing these in Terrariums or the bathroom next to my Shower. Short answer, no I don't think you can take the bottle off w/out the plant wilting again. They really need high humidity, Smart idea this bottle & nice job. Perhaps try to fund some glass vessel to use in place of the bottle for aesthetics (if you care abt that). So you're new to Houseplants? These aren't really beginner plants as you're discovering. Maybe pop over to the Terrarium Forum & do some reading. Don't know how active it is these days. These plants won't propagate from just individual leaves alone. You need to make tip cuttings which are cuttings comprised of at least 2 pairs of leaves for these plants. Put them in soil or moist Perlite & seal in w/ a dome or Cling plastic like Saran to conserve their moisture.

Pictures would help but often it is difficult to accurately diagnose VW without cutting into the wood or via a plant pathologist. Catalpas are rather prone to VW and if present, there is not much hope for the tree. However, VW doesn't spread like the flu so there is little chance other susceptible species will contract the disease unless the pathogen is transferred mechanically, like with infected pruners or other garden tools. Keep your tools and pruners clean and disinfected and avoid any sort of mechanical injury to the other plants (including root disturbance) and try to ensure no other stressors are present like drought or poor drainage, etc. They should be fine. Take samples into your local extension service for an accurate diagnosis as to the problem.

Here in Arizona, fig trees dying usually mean a gopher is at work underground enjoying those delicious fig roots. I am not sure about yours though, if part of the tree is still fine.

Hi & welcome to Gardenweb! Sorry your plant is ailing. From what you said, these are the important clues. "my window sill is right above the heat vents." This sounds like it's getting directly blasted with hot, dry air occasionally. Plants don't like that, intermittently, in a generally cold room. "The soil was slightly moist at the base after weeks of not watering." This sounds like the roots have rotted and are unable to deliver moisture to the plant. So the foliage wilts. Adding more water won't help that, just exacerbate it. This is what overwatering means but it's not your fault. It's the soil holding too much moisture, so the problem is really underdrying. If there are no tiny particles in a pot, it will dry soooo much faster. People who lose plants because they forget to water would have a hard time with this, but if you're the more common 'overwatering' type, which it sounds like you are from reading about your Aralia, this can mean the difference between plants that stay alive vs. those that die. I used to kill plants by 'overwatering' too until learning how to fix things through the great info here at GW. I might recommend an alternative source of water other than tap water, such as rain, melted snow, condensate from dehumidifier or A/C, distilled. It makes a huge difference if tap water is making one visibly ill (which it usually does over time.) Due to genetic reasons, these Aralias have been renamed Schefflera. Your plant's correct name (for today anyway,) is probably Schefflera elegantissima 'Cultivar name here.' That gives us more clues about its' preferences. Mainly, that the roots can't survive sitting in soggy, dense, airless soil (if we didn't already know that when it was Aralia.) To fix that, we need to give them something much more chunky, porous, airy. Most plants can survive getting too dry once in a while. OTOH, getting soppy wet too often and taking forever to dry out is fatal to most. More light sounds like a good idea. I have several cultivars of S. elegantissima that grow outside, with the sun hitting them for a few hours in the afternoon. Another pot that is an east windowsill, so direct sun for a few hours in the morning. I would encourage you to paste what you've written into a post on the house plant forum, to gather all of the excellent advice possible there. This informative post there will make it an easy trip via a click. (At the top of the post will be a link to the house plant forum page.) If you can add a pic, you'll get even more specific advice. Sending good vibes!