Keep in mind that a green thumb is not about having luck with plants... it's all about having the knowledge to properly care for the plants of your choosing, and applying that knowledge. I would figure out exactly what kind of plants your topiary are, and go from there. Each type of plant has slightly different needs... with respect to light, moisture, etc... and caring for container plants will be different than caring for plants planted directly in the ground. You can do a quick google search for information on each plant type, once you know their common names, and you should be able to locate a lot of basic information on the care, the likes and dislikes or do's and dont's, which will make caring for them easy. Or, you can search here... for general care info on the peace lily, try the Houseplants Forum. For the topiary, I believe there's a Topiary Forum... all right here at GardenWeb. As for the peace lily, they are generally easy plants to care for... though, they do seem to wilt quickly when not enough moisture is present... though, you also don't want to overwater... I've included a link to a great store of information on the basics of potted plant care, how water behaves in soil, etc... I think it will help you in your quest for knowledge in container gardening. Happy Growing! Here is a link that might be useful: Basic Container Knowledge

I put some other info in your other post, that should help with general care. For repotting, healthy roots are pretty strong so you don't need to worry about damaging them too much as long as you aren't throwing it around! I see no issue with slightly moving the sections around when you repot so that it's more balanced. These plants are propagated by division, so doing so is not a big deal. Having a healthy peace lily really isn't hard. All it comes down to is watering it really good when it needs it, don't overwater it, and giving it some decent indirect light. If I use a moisture meter, I wait until it is just hitting the "dry" mark when I put the meter down about 2 inches in my pot. Waiting any longer typically results in noticeable drooping of the leaves, meaning they are really thirsty! Some people mist the leaves daily with water since they like humidity. I do sometimes, but I'm not sure how much that really helps honestly... I bet it doesn't do much.

Anthuriums are epiphytic (meaning they grow up in the canopies of the rainforests on the sides of trees), just like orchids, and they grow in the same habitats as orchids as well. Tho they can adapt to growing in a fast draining soil mixture that's blended with orchid bark, perlite, and charcoal. They are closely related to Peace lilies. Peace lilies also prefer a fast draining soil mixture that doesn't stay soggy either. So as long as the roots can breathe and have access to plenty of oxygen, you'll never have to worry about "overwatering" them. Both of these plants live in the rainforests, where they can get rained on on an almost daily basis. So they're no strangers to water. It's a common misconception that overwatering a plant is about giving them too much water, when it's not. It's when the soil mix holds on to too much water, cutting off the supply of fresh air to your plants' roots, causing them to suffocate. For my plants, I don't ever let them dry out. But I also use a proper soil mix that doesn't hold on to too much water either, no matter how much I water them. With it being wintertime, I don't water them as often as I do throughout the rest of the year. I have a similar sized plastic bucket that I sit my plants in and fill it up to the soil line with water, and I let them soak for about half an hour. Then I'll remove the pots and let the excess water drain away. You notice how the runoff will have a slightly brownish tinge to it from all of the dissolved solids in it. That's when I'll flush the pot out with some fresh water, until it starts to run out clear from the bottom. This helps to get rid of any excess mineral deposits and fertilizers that would otherwise buildup in the soil over time. These plants come from the rainforest, and they absolutely love water. But they also need for their roots to breathe as well. And I don't worry about spraying them either. They'll do just fine without it. Here's a couple of links to the Exotic Rainforest's website for properly caring for these plants. It offers a wealth of accurate information on these wonderful plants: Caring for Spathiphyllum & Growing the Tropical Anthurium As for the old spathes, you can just let them naturally die back completely on their own. They don't expend energy from doing this. In fact, letting them die back on their own gives them a chance to reabsorb any nutrients and/or chlorophyll from the spathes, which they can reuse in other areas of the plants. This is why they turn yellow beforehand. Once the old spathes have completely turned brown, they'll easily separate from the plant when you go to gently pull on them. This is no different than when the leaves of deciduous trees change color before the trees shed them in Autumn. Because they're reabsorbing all of the nutrients and green chlorophyll to reuse again in the Spring, rather than having to make them from scratch all over again.

I've had mine go completely bone dry before finally beginning to wilt. This wasn't intentional, I only mention it to point out that the wilting isn't from underwatering. Peace lilies love water, but their roots also love fresh air, so drainage is a must. I would also advise giving it much brighter indirect sunlight. Just because some plants can tolerate low light levels, it doesn't mean that they prefer it that way. Never seek advice from a big box employee. For most of them, it's just a job; they're paid to be there. They don't care about providing accurate advice. You're better off seeking out someone shopping there that actually wants to be there. More often than not, that's where you'll find me, HaHa. I've certainly helped other shoppers whenever they needed it.