Easy plants for beginners

[ladster]

I'm planning a major overhaul of my tank to get it 50% planted - it's currently sitting at 5-10% with some swords and moss, but I'm keen to ditch the plastic decorations altogether. I'm after some suggestions for easy-to-grow plants like swords, and also some floating plants that can just do their thing without needing much maintenance. I want plants that are pretty low-key, I don't want to be constantly fussing over them. Any recommendations would be great.

[raylite]

I've had some success with a simple DIY CO2 setup - it's been about 5 years now, and I've found that plants like Vallis, Hygrophila, and Ludwigia grow pretty well for me. They do grow quickly, though, so I do have to prune or thin them out once or twice a week.

If you're looking for something a bit lower maintenance, I've heard good things about crypts and Anubis - they're supposed to be pretty easy to care for. However, I've found they grow a bit too slowly for my tank, and I end up with algae issues because of it.

I've also tried Wisteria, which is supposed to be one of the easiest plants to grow, but for some reason, it just doesn't seem to work for me. I think the key is just to experiment with a few different varieties and see what works best for your tank.