Sansevieria (snake plants) and spider plants.

To add to the above - cacti and succulents (most varieties) if given enough light and Aspidistra (Cast Iron Plant).

Any plant can be killed with neglect or to much water..If I was to chose the one that performs well for me if I forget to water until a wilt, I would say Pothos..

Everything mentioned and the ZZ (Zamioculcas Zamiifolia). Any plant that can thrive even if you forget to water it for several months has to be pretty carefree.

I've had great luck with the Parlor Palm and Spider plants

I will give another vote for Spider plant and Sansevieria. Because I have a demanding job I need low water plants. Both of these are great if you only water once a month.

I do not do good with demanding high moisture plants. Someone will have to suggest those.

I find Syngonium podophyllum (arrowhead vine) to be very easy. They're not drought tolerant, but as soon as they look wilted I water and they perk right up.

Pothos is easy.

All great suggestions, although I have managed to kill every plant mentioned if I have owned it. *lol* You do have to water at least every once in awhile...

I will add the basic, old-fashioned Aglaonema (Chinese evergreen); I can't believe mine is still alive. It ain't thriving, mind you, but it is still alive. And it needs another tier to its trellis; it thinks it's a dracaena (dragon tree, so-called "lucky bamboo") or a diffenbachia (dumb cane) and is trying to become a tree... Great plant for lower light levels, too; mine just barely gets some early sun and then brightish light all day where it sits six feet away from an east window.

Over the years I've had good luck with schefflera, the plain green variety in either the small 4-6" wide leaves or the dinner-plate-sized you can sometimes find. (I have abysmal luck with the variegated type. In general, the closer to the "wild" version, the hardier the houseplant whatever the species.)

To narrow down the succulent category (yes, I have actually killed jade, but also manage to keep enough pieces going that I still have some): Haworthia. Mine even bud off babies! Always a positive sign when a plant does this and it's not a "must reproduce before I die" reaction... Small, so it does well on the sill or small shelf in a well-lit window (mine's facing S/SW)--above the kitchen sink if possible so you have absolutely no excuse not to water it at least occasionally. ;o)

You can get around the whole not enough/too much water problem by growing plants in water. Topic for another post, but for starters:

Pothos gets another "easy plant" vote, and it can last a loooong time in just water. All you need is a fresh cutting (no roots necessary so long as it has a couple of nodes [root-growing part]) and a clean jar. A bit of activated charcoal [aquarium supply] in the water will help reduce potential ickiness; a narrow-necked jar doesn't evaporate as quickly as a wide-mouth jar. I've had cuttings last this way for years; why bother potting them up when they seem happy? I may even remember to drop in a bit of fertilizer once a year or so.

Spider plants and arrowhead (syngonium) can actually last quite awhile in water as well if you start with a plantlet just getting roots/cutting with nodes. Same with peace lily; I plucked out three young plantlets when we repotted our main plants here at work, rinsed them off, plopped them in water, and now there are new roots on at least one.

I suppose it shouldn't be sursprising that most of the mentioned "easy" plants are tolerant of occasional inconsistent watering (can go to the dry side but won't turn up their toes over a good soaking once in awhile) and also of varying light conditions (some full sun to long hours of relatively bright to somewhat lower light levels).

Sorry I've rambled but I hope it helps!

~ Wren

I forgot about my Peperomia obtusifolia variegata, which (for me) is extremely tolerant of neglect. It came from the store in a tiny pot, the plant was only about two inches high with three leaves. Three or four years later and it's now sprawling a foot in each direction. It's even bloomed a few times.

I agree that these are all easy, though the older, long-limbed syngoniums seemed easier than the ones I've had in the last few years. The list linked below for plants to take home or send to funerals names some easy larger plants like dracaenas. 'Course, nobody sends mother-in-law's-tongue to funerals.

Here is a link that might be useful: plants from funerals

What an interesting link...! (Hmmm, I might need to investigate her book.) An author (and gardener) whose blog I read just posted a bit on all the poor live plants left at gravesites to die painful deaths; I wonder if there is a similar care site for them as well?

Marantas (prayer plants) don't like me. :o( Or perhaps it's more that I don't understand their needs. :o)

I've grown an awesome bromeliad guzmania, i think the only thing it really needs is a fair amount of sunlight so it's best for a sunny area, plus when it sprouts a new clump of leaves called 'pups' you can cut these off at the root and re-plant them in another pot to propagate. Water them once a week or maybe a bit more during summer and it'll be fine, don't over-water. A bit of slow release fertilizer in the soil will be good too. You also can't go wrong with a rubber plant, i just throw the leftover water from a glass i've been drinking from on it every now and then and it keeps on growing, even in a small pot. It's definitely a treat 'em mean, keep 'em keen kind of plant! Also, and this might be surprising, but i have some strange looking cacti that i don't know the name of that are well established and they grow really well with no sunlight and virtually no water!