Is Calathea ornata (pin-stripe calathea) toxic, and can it be kept indoors in a bedroom?

When we grow plants at home, what we care about most is whether the plant is toxic, whether it will harm human health, and so on.Calathea ornata (pin-stripe calathea) has lush foliage and relatively beautiful leaf shape and leaf color, and is one of the most popular indoor potted foliage plants. So is Calathea ornata toxic? Can it be kept indoors in a bedroom?

1. Is Calathea ornata toxic?

When it comes to whether a plant is toxic, we need to approach it from two angles: first, the plant itself; second, the scent it gives off.

First, about the plant itself: so far there is no clear statement that it is a toxic plant. And according to veterans with many years of growing experience, the plant does not contain any toxin. However, this excludes eating it, because no one has tested that. I think fellow gardening friends have no intention of eating it either.

Now let's talk about its scent. With many plants we cannot smell their scent, but that does not mean the plant gives off no scent at all. However, this plant's scent is not toxic; on the contrary, it can even purify our environment.

2. Can Calathea ornata be placed indoors in a bedroom?

Calathea ornata can be grown indoors. The benefits are that it can provide oxygen during the day, beautify the room, lift the mood, and increase indoor air humidity. The drawback is that at night it competes with people for oxygen, but since Calathea ornata is not a large plant, its “harmfulness” is not great. In addition, Calathea ornata likes a warm, humid, and brightly lit growing environment, so when growing it indoors, pay attention to supplementing light in time, and spray water on the leaves on schedule to raise the air humidity in the environment.

3. How do you grow Calathea ornata?

1. Temperature

Calathea ornata likes a warm environment. Its suitable growing temperature is 20°C-30°C; the best daytime growing temperature is 18°C-21°C, and at night 16°C-18°C. Above 10°C it can overwinter safely.

So in summer, prevent high-temperature sun exposure and place Calathea ornata in a cool spot; in winter, pay attention to cold protection and move the plant indoors.

2. Watering

The vigorous growth period of Calathea ornata is from March to October, and air humidity should be kept at 75%-85%. High air humidity is good for leaf unfurling, so during the growing period it should be watered more, and the leaves should be misted frequently.

A suitable watering method is to mist the leaves in the morning, water the potting soil in the afternoon, and pour water over the whole plant in the evening.

3. Light

Calathea ornata is not tolerant of direct sunlight, so shading work should be done well in summer. Let Calathea ornata receive scattered light.

4. Soil

Calathea ornata likes fertile, loose soil, and does not like soil that is compacted or waterlogged.

Generally, fertile humus soil and a porous coarse medium are used as the substrate.

5. Fertilizing

Fertilizing Calathea ornata should follow the principle of “small amounts, many times.” During the peak growing season, apply a mixed fertilizer of peanut bran and compound fertilizer, or decomposed compost, once every 2 weeks.