Today I could not help it and bought what I think is a really beautiful Begonia plant from a local nursery. It has tons of blooms and I absolutely love it.
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/IMG_7614.jpg
The trouble is I don't know anything about begonias or any other plant (except geraniums - for which I have some basics down).
This plant is so thick and bushy with so much bloom that I can hardly peek down at the base to see what's there. I tried and it seems that there are three begonia plants planted into this one pot - so it was clearly crowded to show a lot of bloom and sell. How they make them bloom so much under such "no, no" crowded conditions, I have no idea - but I guess anything is possible in professional greenhouses.
However, I am sure that once out of the greenhouse of professional growers, it will soon cease being as spectacular as it is right now.
My question is: what should I do now with this pot to be able to enjoy this beautiful plant as long as possible and have it continue to bloom as much as possible until fall? I am already thinking about taking cuttings and over-wintering it but I will worry about that later.
For now I just want to continue to have great blooms all summer long.
Should I separate the three plants and re-pot each in a separate container? Should I leave the three plants crowded in the pot I bought and just do the recommended basic care?
I have read some about basic begonia care (enough light but not direct sun, deadheading, moist but well drained soil, etc) but I am concerned with the crowding of this plant. I am afraid it will soon lose the blooms that it has right now - and new ones won't continue to appear at the same rate.
It happened to me with a geranium, similarly potted (3 plants per pot, gorgeous blooms when I bought it, less than two months after the purchase - just a few modest new blooms are coming out).
Thank you a million for any suggestions!