Do you have thin, twisted leaves, a lack of new leaves, or yellowing foliage on your Calathea Ornata? Don’t worry, we’ll talk about how to make a Bushy Calathea Ornata and thrive today.
Calathea Ornata (Pinstripe)
Calathea Ornata, also known as Calathea Pinstripe, is a lovely plant with pink stripes on its enormous green leaves. It’s lovely, but it’s a finicky plant that may be tough to care for at times. We’ve all met someone who has battled to maintain a Calathea alive, much less healthy. So, with this guide, we’ll go over everything you can do to keep these incredible, yet tenacious, tropical plants healthy.

We’ll go over watering requirements, ideal soil, light requirements, humidity, common pests, and early warning indications that your plant is failing in this guide. If you’ve had trouble with this plant in the past, this is the guide for you. You’ll know all you need to know to keep your Calathea (s) happy after we’ve gone through all of the stages below.
Calathea Ornata Sanderiana
Calathea Ornata Sanderiana is another name for the Calathea Sanderiana. Because of the magnificent white stripes that adorn the huge, dark green leaf, some people call it the Pin Stripe Calathea.

What’s the Difference Between Calathea Ornata and Calathea Sanderiana?
Both Calathea Sanderiana and Calathea ornata are quite similar. They also look a lot like each other. The Calathea Sanderiana is easy to spot because it is a much bigger plant.
Its leaves are also wider but shorter than those of the Calathea ornata. The Calathea ornata, on the other hand, has large, dark green, slightly oval-shaped leaves with white, pinkish pinstripes that go from the middle vein to a edges of the plant.
READ: Calathea Triostar Stromanthe Grow and Care
Calathea Ornata Care
The Calathea Ornata is one of the most popular houseplants. How to care Calathea ornata? Calathea ornata prefers indirect light. Direct sun can fade or burn foliage. This plant prefers dim, humid conditions, so find a site with little to no direct sunlight.
Watering
Humidity is a favorite of all Calatheas, not only the Ornata. This is a fantastic plant to have if you have a habit of overwatering your plants. This quantity of water is suitable for the Calathea Ornata. However, there is a catch. When you’re watering this plant, be sure to remove any excess water. This may be accomplished in two ways:
- In the ornamental pot, plant the Calathea Ornata in the plastic nursery pot it came in.
- If the pot is closed, tip the plant sideways to allow any surplus water to drain.
This is necessary because, although this plant like being damp, it does not enjoy sitting in a pool of water. This will result in root rot, which may result in the plant’s death.

When the soil begins to dry up, you should water this plant. Because this plant dislikes being in totally dry soil, be sure to water it before it becomes too dry. In the summer, depending on how dry the soil is, you should water this plant once a week or twice a week. Water this plant every two to four weeks in the winter, depending on how dry the soil is.
READ: Calathea Lancifolia Plant Care | Keep it healthy
The Calathea Ornata’s Soil
As I previously said, this plant prefers damp soil. This implies you should look for a soil that holds a lot of water. This allows it to sit in wet soil for an extended period of time, reducing the frequency with which you must water this plant. It’s not an issue if you don’t have any soil that’s built to hold water. Simply water the plant more often to keep the soil wet.
Because the soil must be damp most of the time, use soil that can breathe when wet. If your soil becomes particularly heavy and compacts, you may want to try a different one. This soil will not allow any air to reach the roots, eventually suffocating the plant. Soil with larger pieces and/or moss is an excellent choice for this since it stores water and allows air to pass through.
Light
Calathea plants are tropical plants, thus they should be exposed to strong indirect sunlight all day. You should be able to keep your plant happy if you keep it next to a south-facing window with a thin curtain or some shade. If you lack a south-facing window, a west-facing window can suffice. My Calathea Ornata sits near a large south-facing window and receives indirect sunlight for the most of the day. When exposed to direct sunlight over an extended period of time, the intricately carved leaves begin to fade.
To summarize, maintain your Calathea Ornata in a bright place that receives indirect sunlight.

Humidity
This plant prefers wet soil, as described in the sections on watering requirements and ideal soil. This plant requires a high level of humidity to simulate the tropical habitat in which it flourishes. Keep a humidifier nearby and make sure your Calathea is in a humid environment.
Calathea Ornata Fertilizer
Standard houseplant fertilizer can be used during the growing season to nourish Calathea. Calathea Ornata should be fertilized with 10-10-10 NPK during in the spring and early summer.
Calathea Ornata Propagation
The Calathea ornata plant cannot be propagated from cuttings, which is a very disappointing fact. Instead, it must be propagated through the process of division. This indicates that you are merely separating several or more plants that were previously grown in the same container and repotting the parts that were separated.
Pets and Calathea
Many houseplants may be toxic to pets and small children, but Calatheas are not one of them. Calatheas, like Calathea Ornata, are safe for pets and will not damage them if they gnaw on your plant. Unlike many other plants, you may securely place this plant wherever you wish without fear of a doctor’s visit.
Pests that are common
A few pests, such as spider mites, affect the Calathea Pinstripe. You should be able to keep this under control with some frequent maintenance. Cleaning the leaves with a spray bottle filled with water and dish detergent is one technique to tackle this issue. You may put this on the leaves to smother the pests that are on and in the leaves. After that, you can wipe the leaves down and you should be good to go for the next several weeks. You should repeat this step every one to two weeks to ensure that it does not spread too far.
Early warning signals of danger
Calathea Pinstripe may be a finicky plant. Fortunately, there are several early warning indications that your Calathea is unhappy. Brown and crispy leaves, leaves that start to turn yellow, and pink stripes that fade to a white tint are among the symptoms. This does not imply that your Calathea is dying.
It simply signifies that the Pinstripe plant isn’t receiving the attention it deserves. When the leaves start to turn brown or yellow, the plant may be in an environment that is too dry for it. In this situation, spray your Calathea leaves on a regular basis or find another technique to offer the Pinstripe plant with the humidity it requires.
The plant is receiving too much sunlight when the pink stripes on the leaves start to fade to white. You’ll notice a change if you move it to a more shady location.
Calathea Ornata Leaves Curling
In response to becoming dehydrated, the leaves of Calathea ornata curl inward, which serves as a defense mechanism to slow the rate of transpiration and prevent the plant from losing any more water. This condition is frequently brought on by underwatering, high temperatures, and low humidity, as well as root rot brought on by overwatering, illness, and excessive fertilization.
Calathea Ornata Brown Tips/Edges
Your Calathea’s leaves turning brown on the edges/tips could be due to a variety of factors.
- Calathea Ornata leaves can get brown edges if the air is too dry. A plant humidifier is a good idea.
- It’s possible that the tap water in your home is to blame for the browning of the tips of the leaves of your Calathea plant. Tap water contains minerals, chlorine, salts, and fluoride, all of which can pile up in the soil of your plant, leaving the tips of leaves to burn, turn brown, and curl up. If you use bottled water instead, you won’t have to worry about this happening.
Why are my Calathea leaves thin?
Overly bright, too much direct sunlight will fade and translucence the Calathea leaves (This can cause the leaves to thin out). If this happens indoors, pull the plant away from the window.
How to Make a Bushy Calathea Ornata
Calathea Ornata can be made bushier with these simple tips: Cut back the brown parts. You should also do away with dead leaves and yellow parts. Reducing the size of the plant will encourage fresh growth.
Provide it enough water, but don’t submerge it for long periods of time. Maintain a humidity level of about 50%. Fertilize once per month or as needed with a moderate nitrogen fertilizer.
How can you maintain the pink color of Pinstripe Calathea?
If the pink stripes on your calathea begin to turn white, this indicates that it is receiving an excessive amount of sunlight. You may try moving it somewhere that is a little bit further away from light and observing whether or not the pink begins to return.
Is the Calathea Ornata Plant Poisonous?
The consumption of calantheas by humans, animals, or young children does not result in any adverse effects. If you have a pet that likes to chew on things, you don’t need to worry about them getting hurt by any variety of calathea, such as the Calathea Ornata.
How do I keep Calathea happy?
As previously said, Calathea ornata prefers indirect light. Regular fertilizer, appropriate watering, and pest control with pesticides are all treatments that will make your Calathea happy.
The fact that your Calathea Ornata survives and is dense, that the leaves do not turn yellow or curl, and that it is shielded from insects and fungi is proof that it is happy.
READ: Easy Guide and Care Calathea Lancifolia
Conclusion
Calathea Ornata is one of the most popular Calathea varieties for houseplants. In this article, I’ll show you How to Make a Bushy Calathea Ornata. Hopefully, you will find all of the information on Calathea Ornata useful in planting and caring for Calathea Ornata in your house.