How do I take good care of houseplants?
What should be the watering and fertilizing schedule.
Also when and how often they need to be repotted?So far the only plants that seem to survive indoors are Peace lilies-the rest just die after some months. Right now I'm trying to save an Ivy,Dracena after having almost destroyed a weeping fig, totally killed an Anthrium (which did have some blooms for some months before it decided to die). @ different kinds of Orchids have but become dried twigs on my counter and it just keeps getting more and more expensive to replace plants and see them crash. Any suggestions. I read somewhere something about Hydrogen Peroxide but no clue as to the use .
Thanks for your suggestions and help in advance.

If you are really serious about houseplants I would suggest a good book to keep around, and there are many, you can order them on line, or trust Google to let you know about taking care of the different varieties. One rule of thumb most gardeners know is that if the plant is dry on top, doesn't necessarily mean its dry below. There are inexpensive probes that let you know if your plant needs water or not.

As for orchids, well they are not as easy to take care of as you may think and I found out about mine on line. There are various procedures you have to know about them to keep their lovely blooms thriving.

I don't know about the hydrogen peroxide, I don't use it for anything in particular, only first aid.

Check out www.freewebs.com.houseplantsby trish; This will help will most any questions you have on houseplant care. The plants that your speaking of are really basic care plants, if you can read in the light, they will survive. Water thoroughly... only when after you stick you finger in the soil it feels completely dry, go down about 2 inches. Don't let plants sit in excess water, Fertilize monthy with mircle gro or schultz liquid plant food, in the winter you don't have to fertilize that much, Humidity is very important, most plants need 40-60% humidity, either by using a humidifier in the winter, misting, grouping the plants together or placing on a tray of pebbles, that you have added water to, this will the humidity in the gerneral area. Foliage plant s need a room temperatre of 70-80 degree day time and 60-80 at night, Flowering plants should not be put in temps of lower that 55-60 degree at night. You should repot most plants once a year, or if that not possible, just put some compost on the top layer around the pot. When your buying new plants, look into what the right conditions are for the plant your choosing, ask one of the people who work at your garden center for the right plant for the conditions you have, It is a lot easier to choose the correct plant for the room conditions you have than changing the conditions of your home for the plant.

I rescued a plant from a charity shop the other day and have been trying to identify it without any luck. I've come close but nothing that is an exact match.

I rescued a plant from a charity shop the other day and have been trying to identify it without any luck. I've come close but nothing that is an exact match, and wounder if you could identify it for me?

@paul. Will try to identify if you include picture

Hi, how do I up-load a picture on here?

My gut tells me your plants are getting TOO much water, and not enough light. This would explain why the peace lily is living (they like more frequent watering and moister soil and can tolerate less light) while your other plants died (they need drier soil and more sun, especially dracena). Never water a plant so fully that you leave water standing in the saucer- this causes root rot, which ironically prevents a plant from being able to drink water, so the symptoms look just the same as underwatering.When the house is colder (like winter) I go weeks between watering many of mine. Don't overfeed, either. In fact, I personally rarely feed my houseplants, but they are huge and happy anyway- they need light and water and soil, and in the right amounts. Non organic fertilizer can burn and kill a houseplant if you feed it more than it can eat. Get a good houseplant book, and/or look up specific care requirements for each type of plant. Make sure they get enough light (another common mistake), and perhaps start with some easy-care varieties like a ZZ plant or snake plant, which can tolerate a wider range of conditions. Orchids can be one of the MOST difficult plants to raise, and they need high humidity and gentle warmth and very specific conditions- so I really recommend other plants. There are many easy-care options which are still lovely.