Calathea Ornata is famously known as the pinstripe plant because of the signature colorful stripes on its round leaves. It is also known as the cathedral plant, zebra plant, and peacock plant. It grows up to two feet wide and two feet tall, making it a great houseplant.

Calathea Ornatas are evergreen perennials and can grow in USDA hardiness zones 11. And even though they are low-maintenance plants, you need to take care of them meticulously to make sure they stay healthy.

So, if you’re looking for best practices for growing and maintaining Calathea Ornata, following expert tips will help you.

Calathea Ornata Growth and Maintenance

Soil

Calathea Ornatas grow the best in moist soil, but make sure that the soil can breathe when moist. Soil that gets compact and heavy when you water it will block airflow to the roots and eventually kill your plants. Your best bet for growing Calathea Ornatas is soil with moss and big chunks that allows air to pass but still holds sufficient water.

Water

Like all other Calatheas, Ornatas also love humidity. But you need to be careful when watering these plants because excess water can be damaging. In fact, if you leave them sitting in water, the root will rot, which will ultimately kill the plant.

To make sure you get rid of the extra water, plant the Ornata in a plastic nursery pot and then place that in a decorative pot. Or if you have a closed pot, then just tilt it sideways to allow excess water to pass through.

Also, note that Ornatas don’t like to sit in fully dry soil, so make sure you water them as soon as the soil starts to dry. So in summers, you can water the plant every other week depending on how hot it is, and in winter, you can water it every four weeks.

Light

Since they are tropical plants, Calathea Ornatas grow best in indirect sunlight so make sure you place them near a window with some shade to keep them happy. Too much direct sunlight can cause the beautiful leaves to fade.

Humidity

As mentioned earlier, Calathea Ornatas love humidity and thrive in tropical conditions, so it’s best if you mimic those. To provide the ideal humidity, you can place a humidifier near the plant, group pots together, or use pebble trays.

Additional maintenance tips

Some additional indoor gardening tips that can help with the growth of Calathea Ornatas.

♦ Aerate the soil to make sure moisture is evenly distributed. To do so, you can just poke holes in the soil using a wooden chopstick so that air and water can reach all parts of the roots.

♦ Calathea Ornatas are very picky when it comes to water quality. Fluoridated, soft, and hard water can make your plants turn brown. It’s best to use snowmelt, distilled water, or filtered tap water. If you’re looking at where to buy distilled water you can buy online easily from companies such as Golyath.

♦ Add diluted houseplant fertilizer to your plant as soon as you start seeing some newleaves. You can reapply after every few weeks, depending on how fast your plant grows.

♦ Mist the plant once in a while to keep pests like spider mites at bay.

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