How to Root an Airplane Plant

Cut the stalk that attaches the offset to the mother plant using snips or sharp scissors. Cut the stalk all the way back to the mother plant’s foliage. Cut the stalk from the pup at the foliage and discard it.

Fill a planting pot with a commercial soilless medium that contains at least 50 percent peat moss. Water the medium with distilled water or rain water until it is completely moist. Airplane plants suffer from fluoride toxicity when watered with tap water.

Make a hole for the airplane plant pup’s tiny roots with your finger. Place the offset's roots in the hole and pack the medium gently around the roots. If it topples over, bend a piece of wire or a paper clip into a “U” and insert the ends into the soil on either side of the pup to hold it in place. As it produces a larger root system it will be able to stand on its own.

Place the potted airplane plant in an area that is out of direct sun and that remains between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit during the daytime and 55 to 65 F at night. Keep the soil moist at all times by watering the plant with distilled water or rain water.