Hi gardeniarose,

Yes, you can store it over the winter- just pack it in some peat moss and make sure it is moist. Lily bulbs don't go truly dormant so you can't store them dry like daffodils. However, they become a lot less "active" in the winter so they don't need much - just a little moisture to keep them going.

As for refrigeration, MOST lilies require vernalization to start up again or to grow well the next spring. Longiflorum may be an exception (I found a texas website mentionning Longiflorum, Candidum, and Formosanum as good for hot zones).

I found a site for the Easter Lily that explains its vernalization. It seems its vernalization temp. is 70 degrees F (warmer than many lilies). So as long as your winters are consistently below 70 degrees you should be able to just plant it outside now. If not, put it in a just moist bag of peat moss and store it in your veggie drawer. Make sure it has a little air (ie., don't zip lock it up just loosely wrap) check on it every now and then to make sure it hasn't dried up and then plant in the spring.

"Long photoperiods and cold treatments can be substituted on a week for week basis to speed up flowering. For vernalization the lily bulb will flower faster with exposure to 1000 hours or 6 weeks of chilling at 34-45°F (1.5-7°C). This means that for a lily to flower rapidly it needs 6 weeks of chilling or 6 weeks of long days or a combination of the two equalling 6 weeks. Actually any temperature below 70°F (21°C) can be considered a vernalizing temperature. At temperatures around 60 F (15) vernalization is very slow. The temperature for most rapid vernalization is 40-45 F (4-7 C). If the temperature is constantly above 70 F the lily will not flower."

-Helen

Here is a link that might be useful: Penn State Dept of Hort. - Easter Lily