Soil
Members of the Marantaceae household require a wealthy, peaty rising medium to remain hydrated. Nonetheless, in addition they require wonderful drainage.
G. ornata tolerates soils which might be barely acidic to barely alkaline, with a pH starting from 6.1 to 7.8.
And since prayer crops are vulnerable to brown ideas, it’s greatest to keep away from rising mediums that embody perlite, for the reason that fluoride content material on this widespread ingredient could cause tip burn.
My most popular peat-free potting combine for these crops is definitely a combo – I like to combine one half coconut coir to assist retain moisture with one half De La Tank’s Houseplant Soil Combine.
This gives good drainage in addition to elements that can promote wholesome development, comparable to compost, biochar, and humic acid.
De La Tank’s Soil Combine
You’ll discover De La Tank’s Soil Combine in one-, eight-, or 16-quart baggage from Arbico Organics.
When you don’t have already got a provide of coconut coir (often known as cocopeat) available for gardening use, you should purchase it in a compressed block, which makes it more room environment friendly.
Prococo Compressed Coconut Coir Block
You’ll find 10-pound blocks of compressed coconut coir additionally accessible from Arbico Organics.
Water
G. ornata prefers moist soil, so don’t let it dry out a lot between waterings. I prefer to water my prayer crops when the floor of the soil has simply barely began to dry.
Use a houseplant watering can to evenly hydrate the floor of the soil, watering till liquid runs out of the drainage holes within the backside of the pot.
Wait till the water has completed draining earlier than returning it to its ornamental pot or putting it again on high of the drainage saucer.
You may additionally need to attempt the backside watering methodology for this plant.
Humidity
Prayer crops require greater than common humidity, and pinstripe calathea is not any totally different.
Goal for humidity that’s between 40 and 60 p.c. When you reside in a local weather with humid summers, you have to be all set and received’t want so as to add any extra moisture to your air.
Throughout wintertime and for these of us in additional arid climates, a couple of additional measures might help.
I develop humidity-loving houseplants comparable to pinstripe calathea in my arid local weather by retaining them grouped with buddies, and positioned in terrariums.
The houseplant buddies assist to boost the ambient humidity, and the terrarium helps to carry the moisture in. (It additionally helps to guard my crops from my curious cats.)
Fertilizing
Prayer crops choose a delicate fertilizing routine, so I like to make use of worm compost tea to nourish them.
When you don’t have worm compost bins of your individual (but!), you’ll be able to fertilize your houseplant utilizing worm compost tea sachets.
To make use of this methodology, you soak these “tea” baggage in room temperature water and feed your crops whereas watering.
Teadrops All Objective Houseplant Fertilizer
You’ll find natural worm compost tea sachets from Earthworm Applied sciences through Walmart.
The place to Purchase
You’ll find pinstripe crops in nurseries and backyard facilities that carry a wide selection of houseplants.
Or you’ll be able to store on-line!
Pinstripe Plant
You’ll find pinstripe crops in six-inch pots from Quick Rising Bushes.
Magnificence Star
‘Magnificence Star’ is a cultivated number of G. ornata.
Its darkish inexperienced leaves have flushes of pale inexperienced between the midrib and leaf margins, forming a light-weight inexperienced background behind delicate creamy pink stripes.
The stripes seem in a wispy, feathery sample and the undersides of the leaves are deep purple.
This cultivar tends to develop solely as much as 18 inches tall and large, with pink flowers.
‘Magnificence Star’
You should buy ‘Magnificence Star’ in six-inch pots from the American Plant Change through Amazon.
Upkeep
You’ll solely must prune your pinstripe calathea if you wish to form it up a bit or if it will get the occasional brown leaf tip.
Like different prayer crops, G. ornata is sort of delicate to temperature and humidity fluctuations and it’s not unusual to search out brown leaf ideas, even on well-cared for specimens.
Be at liberty to prune off brown ideas with a pair of sterilized scissors. You possibly can wipe the scissors down with rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide to sterilize them.
When you get fairly neglectful and miss a watering or two, you would possibly discover total leaves which have gone crispy.
Trim again the useless leaf as shut as potential to the soil floor.
There are lots of causes for brown leaves on prayer crops – learn to troubleshoot this subject in our information.
When it’s time to water, this can be a good alternative to present its leaves a fast cleansing.
Wipe every leaf down with a humid paper towel, high and backside, and ensure the leaves stay comparatively dry.
As a reasonably gradual grower, pinstripe calathea will solely have to be repotted each two or three years – do that in spring when it’s actively rising.