Gardening : It’s Not Too Late for Instant Color

Spring is arriving on tiptoe this year, due to late rain and lasting cold. But at nurseries, it looks like April already, thanks to what nurserymen call “quart color.” Quart-sized containers, also called 4-inch pots, are the preferred size for flowers that have grown enough to already have buds or blossoms.

If you didn’t get around to planting flowers in the fall for spring bloom and the garden is looking a little bare of color, plants in quart pots might save the day. They cost more than smaller plants in packs or flats, but the results are almost instant, guaranteeing a colorful spring.

“For those getting a late start on spring, this is the way to catch up,” says Lew Whitney, of Roger’s Gardens in Corona del Mar, where many colorful beds at the nursery are kept so with quart color.

Flowers planted from quart pots will not last as long, grow as big or flower as much as the same plants do when started young, but they can come pretty close. The trick, according to Whitney, is to specially prepare the soil.

Small plants started in the autumn months have had the time to grow a big, healthy root system, so to help the quart-sized contenders catch up, you must give them a better soil.

“These plants have been pampered by the grower, with lots of fertilizer and a good potting soil,” Whitney says, “so the trick is to pamper them in the garden as well.” He suggests spending a little extra time preparing the soil so the plants will find their new garden soil as good as the soil they’ve become accustomed to inside their quart containers.

One way to do this is to buy bags of organic soil amendment or planting mix ( not potting soil or mix) and thoroughly mix them into the soil to fluff it up so it is as porous and rich as potting soil. Products such as Armstrong Organic Planting Mix and Mulch, Bandini Soil Builder or Kellogg’s Gromulch are organic amendments.

A 2-inch layer spread on top of the garden bed, with an all-purpose granular fertilizer sprinkled on top should do the trick. But, don’t just leave it sitting on top; thoroughly mix it into the top 6 inches of soil, making sure that there are no clods of dirt or clumps of amendment when you’re done. In a heavy clay soil, you might even want to add more organic amendment, and a dusting of soil gypsum, which helps break up California’s clay soils.

Now you can plant, disturbing the root ball as little as possible, but untangling any circling roots so they are encouraged to grow out into the new soil. Immediately water each plant individually with some kind of watering wand that allows you to water the base of each plant to make sure the root ball is soaked, even if the surrounding soil already looks moist enough.

“When those roots begin to grow, you want them to find happy surroundings fast so they don’t stop flowering or growing,” Whitney said. To keep them going, he suggests fertilizing two weeks after planting and then every two weeks thereafter, and watering on a regular basis.

He also has some advice on choosing plants: “Look for those that have only buds or with flowers that are just beginning to open. These will last the longest in the garden. To make sure the plants have not become pot-bound, tap them out of their quart container and check to see if the roots have become too tangled or matted. Pot-bound annuals are not a good bet.”

It is easy to turn the plant sideways and let the root ball slide out of the container to check, and just as easy to slide it back in after you have.

For what to plant from quart pots at this time of the year, see the list of Whitney’s favorites in the accompanying box. You can plant almost anything that blooms in the spring, those things that are usually planted in the fall, but some do better than others started this late.

“Perhaps because of all the cold weather, I’ve seen the best looking pansies and English primroses ever,” Whitney said, so there are two in particular to look for, one for sunny spots, one for shade. Even ranunculus, normally planted as bulbs, are a possibility if you find the Bloomingdale strain that was developed just for quart pots. So it not too late to plant even spring’s brightest flowers, from quart pots.

FAVORITE FLOWERS TO PLANT NOW FROM QUART POTS:

Anemone

Annual dianthus

Bloomingdale ranunculus

Delphinium

English primrose

Foxglove

Iceland poppy

Nemesia

Pansy

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