Hello! My rubber plant is reaaaally not doing well. I currently am trying to propagate its leaves in water (would love advice on this too, if you have any), but still have the stem with the root system(zero leaves, see photo). I have put it in dirt, and am just wondering if it has the ability to grow leaves from nothing, or if I am wasting my energy…. Even if there is a slim chance, I would really love to try. Thanks so much for your time & guidance!!

Those should be able to grow back, but the soil looks pretty dry. They do need water.
You say you have leaves. Is there any stem attached to those leaves? The leaves grow from those little nodes on the stem, and they are often propagated that way.
It's been a long time since I had one, o not really informed.
Maybe this article will help. https://vintagerevivals.com/ru...

From the photo I can see tiny nodes on the stem. If you get a bright light 6500k color temperature you might just get some new buds on the stems from those tiny little nodes. A cheap 60watt L.E.D floodlight will do the trick. make sure the light is 6500k. Give it a good watering as well. After the buds have sprouted into leaves, put the plant into the brightest spot in the house.

Hi Megz, to garden.org!

Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica) are only propagated by stem cuttings, so the leaves you have in water will not make new plants. If the roots and stems of your plant are still viable, with a good watering, warmth and very bright light, you should eventually see new growth emerge.

Thanks to @MsDoe for notifying me of my original confusing post; I should have proofread before hitting send. I've edited it, so it should now make better sense. Thanks again MsDoe!

Thank you so much for your help & advice! The soil on top is super dry, but no matter what I do, the soil deeper down seems to stay wet... I dont have another pot so not sure what to do watering wise without killing the plant

Getting another pot shouldn't be a problem. I use all kind of containers, including plastic bins from Home Depot, retired 5 gal. ice cream tubs and just plain old household pails. You have to drill holes in the bottom and put a catch-tray underneath.
There seem to be shards of broken pottery in that soil. Might be a good idea to empty the whole pot and replace the soil. But I'd wait until given the plants a chance to regenerate.

Hi everyone!

I feel so stupid because it's me who put the shards of pot into the soil... I had read somewhere that it helped. I'll try to pick them out, but there's some at the bottom of the pot....

My stem seems to not be doing well it's dried up at the top completely, but 2/3 of it is still green inside. I see zero signs of growth as of now. I've been watering once every week and a half, but I'm not super hopeful.

I wanted to say that I REALLY appreciate all your comments and time though. I didn't expect anyone to even answer, and I'm really grateful take care!

If the shards are unglazed clay, I wouldn't worry about them. Best luck to your cuttings! At this point, I would put this as close as possible to my sunniest window. The new leaves will be acclimated to the light and have the best color that way.