I have, and have had, numerous thriving houseplants. My largest plants right now are about five feet tall. I also have three orchids that do wonderfully, a selection of cacti, etc. I do still kill plants from time to time but it's rare. In any case, I don't really agree with much of the advice in this thread. In order, the most important things IMHO are:
1) Caring: you actually have to care about the plants. This requires that you notice how they are doing and if they aren't "happy", taking action to try and improve their environment.
2) Light: if the light is bad, you're screwed. People keep talking about overwatering but not providing plants with enough light is just as bad and probably worse. Plants indoor get far less light than they do outdoors. If you have a very sunny room, in most cases the only way plants will do poorly is by totally neglecting to water them.
3) Water: not particularly difficult. With most plants you only need to water when the soil is completely dry. What I would especially suggest you do if you are starting out with houseplants is to purchase plants that show, by virtue of their foliage drooping, if they don't have enough water. The leaves of a peace lily will droop. The leaves of devil's ivy will start looking floppy. I've noticed that my spider plant's leaves seem to become paler. Some plants (e.g. ones that look like palm trees) will lose their foliage, starting at the bottom.
In any case, if you have a plant like this, it is visibly telling you it needs water, so it's not hard to comply. It can also serve as a sort of canary in the coal mine for your other plants.
That's honestly about it. I repot the occasional plant, and sometimes I do a little light fertilizing. But if you have a plant that is doing poorly, my advice in almost all cases is simple: ensure it gets more light, and don't water it until it's totally dried out.
1) Caring: you actually have to care about the plants. This requires that you notice how they are doing and if they aren't "happy", taking action to try and improve their environment.
2) Light: if the light is bad, you're screwed. People keep talking about overwatering but not providing plants with enough light is just as bad and probably worse. Plants indoor get far less light than they do outdoors. If you have a very sunny room, in most cases the only way plants will do poorly is by totally neglecting to water them.
3) Water: not particularly difficult. With most plants you only need to water when the soil is completely dry. What I would especially suggest you do if you are starting out with houseplants is to purchase plants that show, by virtue of their foliage drooping, if they don't have enough water. The leaves of a peace lily will droop. The leaves of devil's ivy will start looking floppy. I've noticed that my spider plant's leaves seem to become paler. Some plants (e.g. ones that look like palm trees) will lose their foliage, starting at the bottom.
In any case, if you have a plant like this, it is visibly telling you it needs water, so it's not hard to comply. It can also serve as a sort of canary in the coal mine for your other plants.
That's honestly about it. I repot the occasional plant, and sometimes I do a little light fertilizing. But if you have a plant that is doing poorly, my advice in almost all cases is simple: ensure it gets more light, and don't water it until it's totally dried out.