Expert: Kenneth Joergensen - 5/23/2006

Question
Hi.  I live in zone 7, and about a month ago I bought 50 lillie bulbs at a local garden shop.  I had been working on the area I wanted to plant them, but things have come up and I haven't been able to finish getting the area ready.  We bought a house, and the previous owners had other flowers in the area that I took out.  We have also had a lot of rain, keeping the ground completely wet.  
When I bought the bulbs, they were just beginning to sprout.  The instructions said to plant them 8" deep, so I figured that I would do that and just not pack the dirt tightly on top.  The sprouts are bigger now.  Do I have to hurry up and plant them?  They are still in the plastic bag I bought them in and I haven't done anything special to store them, but I don't want them to rot or anything.  
I don't know much about them, but I think they are very pretty and don't want to lose the money I put into them.  And I didn't know if I could plant them in June or have to wait until fall, although from things I have read, they do better if planted in the spring.
Thank you,
Tzena

Answer
Lily bulbs are never really dormant (unlike tulips and daffodils which go completely dormant and which form a protective outer covering: tunip, which is a papery protection). Lily bulbs consist of fleshy scales which can dry out and die if not planted. Also once they sprout they really should be planted asap.

Consider buying a couple of large sq foot planters and plant the lily bulbs (you can cram them in there.. more closer than you would in a flower bed. so they almost touch). Then transplant next fall after the stems have died back (turned yellow/brown and withered).

It is best to get them planted right away.