Hello!

I am not advanced enough to help you but, if possible, you might want to post some photos of the soil it’s in now (just take a picture of the top of the soil), and maybe put down newspaper, put the pot on its side and pull out the roots and photograph those too. (Don’t hurt your back though, and don’t let the roots sit in the air ... just take a quick pic of the ball and put it back in. The roots can dry out pretty fast.)

My guess is, you are correct that there may be an issue with the soil it’s in, just because there almost always is with plants that come from the store. If you put up some more photos it might help people help you.

I am not sure your plant looks all that sick, frankly. But, again, I’m no expert.

Good luck!!! Don’t hurt yourself lifting it. I use the side-tipping method, it helps a lot. Some mess is probably unavoidable.

Those small black leaves you are referring to are leaf sheaths. When the leaf was just starting out at the tip of the bud there are layers of these leaf sheaths that protect the baby leaf until it grows big enough to unfurl. As the leaf gets over the sheath doesn't fall off and just turns black. It's normal. As far as repotting. I want to caution you on it. Since this is how a lot of people kill their FLF. First you need to determine if the size of the pot is appropriate for the root mass. FLF's like to be root bound which means they like to be crowded. If drainage is a concern I'd keep the same pot but add a layer of leaves or pebbles to the bottom close to the drainage hole. Then use fresh soil. Keep in mind the larger the pot you move it in the larger the plant will grow. If you want to keep the plant contained and easy to manage small to medium sized pots will keep the root mass from taking off too quickly. These are plants that can grow into large 20 ft trees in the wild. Your tree doesn't look unhealthy but I'd probably recommend higher humidity. It'll solve a lot of issues.