My experience has been like Carol's the mother plant can take forever to expire. Frankly, I don't think I have ever seen an actual dead mother plant, they just seem to fade away quietly and by that time the little ones have filled the area.
This neoregalia lives outdoors and normally it is nestled in a large piece of driftwood. I removed it for a demonstration in a Master Gardener class last week. It must have had a mother plant in the middle originally. You can see the little pot only anchors the plant. It looks raggedy now because it is winter. It will get all new, brightly colored leaves as the weather warms. The hanging basket with the red leaves is the same plant, that is how it will look in summer.
Minds are like parachutes; they work better when they are open.
