Good advice Mrs J.
TomNJ: It's a bit trickier planting "deep" with containers (no yard here), so a theory I just made up now on the spot to support up potting is to simulate a little bit of a deep root system from the plant stem with gradual pot size increases. In reality my whole two seasons hands-on** experience is based on what internet research told me to do hah!
Given my temperate climate, and my generally lazy nature, planting directly in the 4" pots sounds like a great idea. Any results would be better than last year! Thanks for helping justify skipping a step