Looking for an heart - catch addition to your houseplant compendium ? sound like may just be in need of a(nother ) prayer plant ! Let me introduce you to Calathea ornata , well know as the pinstripe prayer flora . This species ’ stunning foliage is inconceivable to overlook !
Keep read for everything you need to fuck about Calathea ornata forethought and how to grow this striped houseplant indoors .
Disclosure : If you shit from my article or make a purchase through one of my links , I may get commission on some of the products I advocate .
About Calathea ornata
Natural habitat
Calathea ornata is by nature establish in Colombia like many of our other favorite houseplant ( includingPhilodendron gloriosum , Anthurium andraeanum , andTradescantia zebrina ) , although it has also been recorded in role of Venezuela . Here , it farm in forests , woodland , and scrubland as part of the underbrush .
Description
It ’s no wonderment that Calathea ornata is one of the most commonly sold prayer plant . This species is a beauty !
The wild form mutant dark green stretch folio on long , thin stems . The foliage is characterized by its very pronounced , silvery or pink leafage veins that search a piffling like pinstripes ( which explain the common name of pinstripe prayer plant ) .
It ’s an evergreen plant perennial that grow in a clumping personal manner from a central rootstalk and can reach around 3 feet in superlative .
Like other prayer plants ( such asCalathea orbifolia , Maranta leuconeura , andStromanthe sanguinea ) , this coinage closes up its finespun leave of absence when night fall and opens them back up at dawning .
Taxonomy
If you ’re a long - time houseplant partizan , you may have heard of the “ nifty Calathea hejira . ” Basically , a scientific review latterly take blank space and it turned out that many industrial plant metal money that had previously been placed in the genus Calathea , including Calathea ornata , in reality belong to Goeppertia .
The whole mistake was cause by mucky assortment , since botanists did n’t always pull in at the metre that some species look different as adults than as immature plants .
A thumping 200 species were incite , but the commercial houseplant macrocosm is n’t quite as quick to catch on as the scientific side .
That ’s why , to avoid confusion , I still refer to this industrial plant as Calathea ornata in this place , even though it ’s now technically call Goeppertia ornata . The same go for the Plant Formerly fuck AsCalathea makoyanaand many others .
Will the real Calathea ornata please stand up?
There are some other prayer industrial plant that are very similar in looks to Calathea ornata . Together , they work what is referred to as the “ Ornata complex , ” which contain species like Calathea ( or , technically , Goeppertia ) majestica , vittata , and sanderiana . Their almost monovular appearing have caused a portion of name uncertainty .
One scientific author call the whole thing an “ ornate confusion , ” saying that true Calathea ornata does n’t even live in gardening any longer and that the name is incorrect . He states it was replaced a long sentence ago by the more vigorous Calathea majestica !
Is your brain spin yet ? That’shouseplant taxonomyfor ya .
Luckily , in the end , it does n’t really count for those of us just trying to develop plant in our homes . wish for all these Calatheas is the same anyway .
Calathea ornata varieties
Due to the taxonomical confusion described above , it is n’t always clean whether a plant you buy as a Calathea ornata variety is truly an ornata , or if it ’s another similar prayer plant that was misname . Again , it ’s not a huge trouble , since their aid requirements are selfsame .
The most commonly deal diversity include :
The very similar Calathea ‘ White Star ’ is often mistaken for Calathea ornata , but it ’s in reality a majestica . Same pinstripes , different name .
( And not to make things even more confusing , but there ’s anAglaonema varietythat looks near indistinguishable to Calathea ornata as well ! )
Where to buy Calathea ornata plants :
Caring for Calathea ornata
Light and temperature
As describe in the section above on Calathea ornata ’s innate habitat , this popular houseplant of course grow in forested region in tropic Colombia and Venezuela . This mean the coinage is n’t used to being blasted with direct sun , as the harsh beam of light would of course be filtered out by taller trees .
Your pinstripe Calathea bed ignitor and it should be kept near a windowpane , but check that it gets gentle , collateral brightness level . Artificial inflammation also work well if you do n’t have any windowsill infinite to declare oneself , or you’re able to develop the plant outdoors in a shaded blot .
In terms of temperature , this is a true tropical that despises the cold . elbow room temperature is great and significantly lovesome is n’t a problem either , but your prayer works will speedily stop growing if it ’s exposed to temperatures below around 60 ° farad . Take your plant life back indoors in early fall and keep it away from A / C units or draughty windows to prevent job .
Water and humidity
As with other orison plants , it can be a little ambitious to find the right watering balance for a Calathea ornata . These guys are hobo camp industrial plant that enjoy plenty of moisture , but they do n’t react well at all to being left suffer in water . You ’ll have to find the odoriferous spot between wet and drainage , a lot of which depends on the right grime mixture ( which I ’ll discuss below ) .
In price of watering , you require to keep this flora ’s filth gently moist at all times , but never wet . During the summer growing months , water as soon as the top column inch or two of the grease has gone ironic . This may entail giving the plant a drink up to twice a week or even more .
When it ’s motionless during the cool wintertime months , allow the filth dry out a little further to foreclose overwatering . Just never grant it to become bone dry : If your Calathea starts to droop , you ’ve probably waited too long .
humidness is another important aspect that ’s a bit dodgy to get right . Prayer works like this one are notorious for being finicky about humidness . If the air in your home is too ironical , your works wo n’t thrive , and it may fall quarry to issue like spider jot infestations and crispy leafage baksheesh .
The ideal air moisture stratum for Calathea ornata are between 60 percentage to 100 pct . If the humidness in your home regularly falls below 50 per centum , it ’s probably a beneficial idea to use a humidifier . Your houseplants will give thanks you !
Quick tip
Is your supplicant works just not thriving despite your best efforts ? You ’re not a regretful industrial plant parent , this species is just a dramatic play fag . Calathea / Goeppertia is n’t know to be the easy houseplant to grow alfresco of a greenhouse environment . Sometimes our homes simply do n’t suit them !
Soil and planting
The proper dirt admixture for your orison flora can really help in keep take with waterlogging or dry out too tight . If you ’re struggling to find the right lacrimation balance , pay attending here .
Like many tropicals , Calathea ornata requires both excellent drainage as well as some water retention . Mixing your own soil is usually your good stakes for prayer industrial plant winner . Try merge the following to make a suitable mix that does n’t pass away the root or dry out out too quickly :
As for a planter for your pinstripe orison industrial plant , the most important matter is that it should have a drainage hole . Mary Jane without drain are best avoided unless you ’re an experient houseplant agriculturist , as they can increase the risk of source decompose in your plants .
commend products for Calathea ornata caution :
Fertilizing
Calatheas are n’t big feeders , but that does n’t mean your ornata wo n’t value a few extra nutrients here and there . If your industrial plant is produce well during the turn time of year , you may utilise a diluted liquid state houseplant fertilizer once or twice a calendar month .
Do n’t employ fertilizer if your Calathea is n’t doing well or if it is n’t spring up ( like during the wintertime calendar month ) . It wo n’t help the plant perk up and instead , can actually end up damaging the root .
Recommended fertilizer for Calathea ornata :
Pruning
You usually wo n’t have to do any pruning on your Calathea ornata , aside from the occasional removal of bushed folio . This is one area that ’s easy peasy !
Dividing or repotting
As mentioned to begin with , the pinstripe Calathea has a clumping growth substance abuse and develop from a central rhizome . This mean newfangled shoots pour down up next to the female parent flora on a regular basis if your flora is healthy .
Should you pot these up separately to give the original flora infinite , or repot the whole thing into a bigger planter ? It ’s up to you !
class is the only way to diffuse a Calathea and it ’s a good way to acquire new plants to keep or give away . If you keep repot the plant in one opus yr after year , though , you could end up with a spectacularly Brobdingnagian specimen .
Propagating Calathea ornata
As hash out above , this houseplant ca n’t be manifold using the tested and try out standard method acting of fore propagation . If you cut leaves , there is a small luck they will root in water , but they ’ll never produce Modern leafage .
If you ’d care to disseminate your Calathea ornata , you ’ll instead have to do so using the division method acting . It ’s wanton !
Just take the plant out of its container ( like if you were survive to repot anyway ) and you may see lump set out to issue forth asunder by themselves .
If that ’s not the case , make a vertical cut through the rootstock using a clean knife to disunite it . verify each clump has at least a few leave and some ascendent .
Give each section its own unexampled planter with refreshful Calathea soil and you ’re done ! you’re able to resume normal lacrimation , since your brand name new prayer plants already have their own theme systems . They can look a snatch limp for a few calendar week while they conform , but once you see new leafage growth , you ’ll know you ’re in the clean .
Common questions about Calathea ornata care
Why does my Calathea ornata have dry leaf edges?
There are two coarse causes for leaf edge ( and even intact leaf ) becoming crispy in orison plants . The first is a lack of humidity , so if you do n’t have one yet , consider buying a cheap humidity meter ( likethis one ) to help you figure out whether you may ask to run a humidifier .
Secondly , this houseplant can be sensitive to the minerals in rap water . Calatheas do n’t mete out well with the chloramine-T , fluoride , and other elements that may be present .
You do n’t have to switch to bottled water unless what comes out of your tap is very broken quality , but it can be very helpful to sluice your Calathea ornata ’s soil with extract water every few month . This removes any mineral human body - up that may be touch its foliage .
Is Calathea ornata toxic to cats and dogs?
Nope ! One of the great things about Calatheas / Goeppertias is that they arenon - toxic to petsand human .
root :
