Question
I am in Fort Worth, Texas. I recently bought a couple of plants at the local dollar store. They each came in small, 2 1/2" in diameter plastic pots. I would like to do research on the proper care of them, but I have literally no clue what each is.

The first one has many leaves coming straight out of the soil, each about a foot long. About an inch at the widest, they  are round but come to a point at the tips. The plant has faint, non-symmetrical light and lighter green streaks going up and down the leaves. The edges have a yellow stripe around the perimeter, with a dark green, thin stripe around the edge.

I am pretty sure the other plant is a fern. It has a short light green furry stalk near the bottom. The leaves are symmetrical and serrated around the rounded edges.

Any help, especially with the first plant, on what these might be would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much - Antonia

Answer
sounds like the 1st could be in the spider plant family.  your description of the 2nd sounds like a fern. there are millions of plants out there, so w/out seeing them i can't be sure.  send a digital photo(jpeg format) to       [email protected]
and i can give you more of a positve answer.
the care would still be similar for most tropical plants.
most are grown under shade cloths in FL because they do not like direct sunlite-the foliage burns(they will tolerate morning sun-inside they do best there).  whenever the nitetime temps go below 45 you should bring them inside(even if only for the nite). if the day temps are above 50 you can leave them outside during the day.
water by weight. put a saucer under the pot. water and let the plant sit in the excess water for 5-10 minutes.  after that time pour off any excess water in the saucer.  pick up the pot.  it should feel heavy.  don't water again until it feels considerably lighter in weight.  outdoors check the plant everyday. indoors check it every 5-10 days.  watering frequency depends on many factors(sun exposure, wind, day temps, etc.).
good luck.  please rate my answer on the allexperts.com site.