can we see the whole plant ...

where are you.. big city name.. and how cold might it have gotten in shipping??

ken

Yeah, Rubusta is just a cultivar of the old reliable Ficus elastica. This species is not at all cold tolerant. I also suspect it's cold damage. If there are still parts of the plant that have heathy, green, firm leaves and trunk, it may still recuperate, but it's going to take some time to recuperate from the damage. Remove the dead parts of the plant but leave anything that is still green and firm, even if it's half a normal leaf.

I agree with what was said immediately above. Don't try to 'pep it up' by fertilizing until it is pushing new growth. It's highly likely the plant will eventually straighten out (if you provide the cultural conditions it likes). It likes temps in the 70s (Fahrenheit), very bright light (but acclimate to any VERY bright spots gradually over a 2 week span), regular fertilizing (Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 is a superb fertilizer for ficus and nearly all other houseplants), and you would do well to monitor moisture levels deep in the pot by using a wooden tell. If the pot is less than 5" deep, do not trust the advice to 'water when the top inch or two of the soil feels dry to touch', as it is little more than directions on how to chronically over-water. More about making/using a 'tell' below. This is especially important while the plant is essentially leafless.

This short piece re How to Care for Ficus in Containers over the long term should prove very helpful.

Using a 'tell'

Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need plenty of air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support the kind of root health most growers would like to see; and, a healthy root system is a prerequisite to a healthy plant.

Watering in small sips leads to avoid over-watering leads to a residual build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil from tapwater and fertilizer solutions, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma. It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor.

In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water.

Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'.

One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue.

Best luck ..... any other questions?

Al

we can tell you the odds.. if you give us that pic of the whole plant ...

i would also discuss this with the seller ... and see if they will send another ...though of course.. its probably still cold outside ...

ken

Thank you everyone, your insights are very helpful.

The cold temperature didn’t even crossed my mind. it was around 5-10 degrees that week, so that explains a lot.