I havent a clue about indoor plants!

[Loopylooni]

I have a whole load of dead houseplants which I purchased a while back which i have to bin. I thought I'd try and grow some from scratch with my children as i have all the ceramic pots. However I don't know where to start!! What's the difference between compost and soil and potting mix? What should I buy? Do I need new pots with holes? Any links to products would be really appreciated plus step by step of how to prep them!

Soil is the stuff you find in your garden, potting mix is found in bags in a garden centre, it’s more carefully made up for a consistent texture and water holding ability, and often has slow release plant food mixed in. Compost is more confusing, it’s used both to mean potting mix and to mean the variable quality stuff you get out of your home compost bin.

You need potting mix or compost which says it’s good for containers (ie not seed compost with too few nutrients, ericaceous compost for things in the heather family, orchid compost, cactus compost etc). I don’t know what’s available nowadays since there’s a big move away from peat as a constituent.

yes, you need pots with holes in. The usual way to kill houseplants is to overwater them so their roots rot. Always let the top surface of the soil dry out before watering again. You can stand the pot in a ceramic container without a hole, but half an hour after watering pour away any water that’s still left in the ceramic pot. I say half an hour because that gives time for the compost to soak up as much water as it wants - sometimes it’s difficult for dry compost to take up as much as it needs, it just flows straight through.

Check the label - and ideally also google or look in a book to see what conditions they like. Some want a sunny windowsill, others prefer a darker corner. Some like warmth and others really need a bit cooler than humans like. But there's a houseplant for every situation!

In general water as described above but there are one or two which might want something different - cactuses and some others want to be pretty dry in winter, one or two which are bog plants like Venus fly traps want their feet in water. They, and a few others really don't like tap water.

Great advice from previous posters - but also, which plants did you buy? Some are notorious gits and may not be helping you. Most things needed to be dryer than you expect.

I have a house full of plants, but lordy I've killed some in the past. I haven't quite given in on maidenhair ferns yet, but if my current two die too, I will finally admit defeat. Alocasias look lovely on Instagram, all but one that I've had have died, and the remaining one never grows beyond three leaves.

Really easy do-ers here include:

Peace Lily - they flop dramatically if they are dry, but chuck them in a bowl of water to soak up and they will come back to life fine if you don't leave them too long.

Asplenium ferns - I find maidenhairs tough and Bostons a bit fickle, but aspleniums are very easy going and a nice bit of glossy green.

Spider plants - can't go wrong really, love a variegated one and very easy to propogate.

Tradescantia - loads of varieties, easy to keep, easy to fill your house with as they propopogate so easily.

Pothos - many varieties and markings, different sized leaves quite easy.

Orchids are surprisingly easy too, thrive on benign neglect.

Start with Succulents and put them in a sunny window. They're the easiest of all and only need watering every 1 or 2 weeks and if you forget a week they won't mind. They do need a lot of light though, so window sills are the best spot. Mine are in a south facing window as the rest of my house is quite dark.

Other plants I have are Devil's Ivy and Monstera. Both need less light and I have both in my bathroom and kitchen (east-facing) where they're thriving. They need watering every week (esp the monstera). But don't over water them. I do the 'bottom watering' method in that if they're in a saucer or outer pot you put water only at the bottom and the plant's roots will suck it up as it needs it. That way the top of the soil stays dry and deters flies etc burying in (they like moist soil). Always use a pot with holes inside another (nicer) pot, or a saucer. With the Ivy, you know it needs watering when the leaves all curl up and go limp. When they're watered they're straighter and stand up more and look more shiny/glossy.

I find that using succulent soil for all my plants works well. I also have a general houseplant mix which works too. I don't think you need much more. I use a plant food (baby bio) once a month - you just mix it into the water.

If you see any yellow or dead leaves take them off, they take away nutrients from the healthy leaves and it keeps your plant healthier for longer. Mist your plants every day but you don't need to mist succulents.

Do some research to find the best spot for your plant - in fact, check the space you have (which way it's facing/how much light/humidity there is etc) and then try and find the right plant for that space). I've made tons of mistakes but this way works better.

I can kill most plants. However my ZZ plant is going great guns.
I'm afraid I was too mean to my Peace Lily and it decided life with me wasn't worth it.

So these are those that died. I put them near my windowsills as that's the only spaces I had. I didnt know about where the sun hits!

So should I just head to the garden centre and buy a few flowers? I'm still confused on what to buy in terms of potting mix? Could someone post a link?

My dream is plants all over!

Growing from seed is harder than keeping one you buy alive! Go to a good garden centre with an idea of where you want to put the plants (direct /indirect sunlight, size, any drafts etc) tell them you want something that is unkillable. They will steer you right. Some plants don't suit some spaces (or gardeners) everyone always says that spider plants are easy but I've never been able to keep one alive. I have a cheese plant which I neglect that is the envy of my plant-loving friends.

The garden centre will also show you the right potting mix

Peace lily is our ‘indicator plant’ as poster above mentioned it flops down visibly when it needs water, prompting me to go round and water everything.

dragon tree is good.
and varieties of fiscus have been surviving well for me. Ferns always die. I have a parlour palm which while still alive, hasn’t grown in 2 years so not sure I can recommend that!

Maidenhair ferns are difficult, IME, I never managed to keep one for long so don't buy them now.

Peace lilies are easy but don't like full sun so if you've only got windowsills they may not suit you either.

I've got spider plants and orchids on my windowsills.

I'm still confused on what to buy in terms of potting mix? Don’t get too hung up on that. It won’t make much difference. Get any general purpose compost unless you are growing a succulent or a cactus in which case get cactus compost, or an orchid for which you need orchid compost.

If you buy a plant in a pot, you probably won’t need to repot it, so you can see if you can keep it alive before spending money on compost.

As we've said, the maidenhairs are gits, so don't get a complex about that one.

The tradescantia I will guess you probably had too wet - they are easy plants in general, although need a tiny bit of care to keep them looking nice. They are actually several plants in one pot, and will benefit from 'pinching out' - chop them below a leaf node (bump), take the leaf off, then shove that in the soil. This will keep the plant refreshing, bush out what's there and stop it getting leggy.

Parlour palms I'm not really familiar with, but again if anything I would guess you had this too wet.

My DD brought home a Tradescantia Zebrina from the school fair and I haven't killed that yet either. Water sparingly from below and feed it.

My top tip is don't overwater. Most indoor plants should only be watered once the top cm of soil is dry. When you're at the garden centre look at the descriptions of how much sunlight they need. Only a few will survive on little sun. The ones that do best here are rubber plants, monsters and philodendron..