Higher price of fuel = higher cost of freight = higher cost of goods.

Yep, I only grow a few annuals that aren't that easy to pick up at a Home Depot, so I start them from seed. But impatiens are usually cheaper to buy than to grow. I was dissapointed to pay almost $4 for each six pack of impatiens when I needed them earlier this year. I made a note to do it myself next year.

I'm not sure that the cost of fuel is the only factor at work in the increased price of annuals, however. At Home Depot, I recently saw an interested bit of marketing speak. Small starts of annuals in 12 packs and 24 packs were labelled "For the patient gardener". Annuals in larger sizes were labelled as "Instant Impact". Then there were the "Premium Annuals" at twice the cost of the larger "Instant Impact" plants.

It seems to me that nurseries are trying to push plants to the less patient people, and that they are upping the price tag to boot.

On the other hand, the Home Depot at Shady Grove Road had a good sale price on the smaller sides 12 and 24 packs of annuals. They had a fair number of impatients in there, so it might be worth having a look. I visited there in the last week.

Happy Hunting,

Dan

Dan

I find the same thing with perennials- it's hard to find smaller sizes. Everbody seems to have moved up to 1 gal. containers. I prefer the smaller ones- easier to plant, and I think they do better in the long run.

I noted that one nursery was growing three plants in a pak that usually holds 4. And charging the same. But 4 paks of annuals at a local place were $1.19 which isn't bad. OTOH, I wanted larger plants of lupines since they are hard to establish - had to settle for 2" pots for $1.79.

What I found was that plants of the size usually found in a 4- or 6-pack were marketed in 4-inch pots with a big price. I had a hard time finding any multipacks and when I did, the plants were still over 60 cents each.

Hey oldroser, where did you find your 4 packs for $1.19.

I was told by one nursery that the move away from market packs had to do with the labor required to keep them watered, especially at the wholesale grower level. Market packs require wateringmuch more often because the cells are too small to hold water for long, so bigger pots are cheaper to produce. But I think they are going to find that the mainstay gardeners who buy a lot of annuals every year will turn to other sources or start planting seeds.

I for one cannot afford to plant the bed I put in pansies every year at the single pot level, since the plants don't usually fill that much room.

I also get about 5 flats of impatiens every summer at the cheapest place I can find them to add color throughout my shady backyard. If the flats get too expensive, I'll start doing without. I'm already considering trying to wintersow them next year.

Do stores even sell 6-packs any more?

I suspect it's not so much nurseries pushing bigger plants to customers as impatient customers demanding bigger plants. Bigger is always better, right :-)?