Yes. Lily bulbs are tasty to critters, (and people, they are grown as a food crop in China). If you plant them deep, the squirrels won't get them (though moles/voles can). With only a few exceptions (candidum, pumilum, cernuum) most lilies should be planted 8"-10" deep. This is recommended because lilies are "stem rooting", and need the stem roots to help feed the bulb and anchor the stem (plus its where you get little bulblets). But, the added bonus is that it frustrates the squirrels. It would take a pretty beefy squirrel to get 8" down. The tunnelers are a different story. I'm surrounding my lilies in my back bed with daffodils this year hoping that keeps the moles away.

-Helen

P.S. heavy mulching also protects from squirrels.

Squirrel garden forays depend on the availability of other food. Every now and then there are years that the oak trees don't produce many acorns, and then the squirrels have to go to "plan B".

Our neighborhood is LOADED with squirrels and I've never had them get my garden lilies. Bulbs planted close to the surface are another story. They dug up lily bulbets I had in pots (shallowly planted in nice soft potting soil). They also got hardy cyclamen I planted. They bloom in the late Fall and in Winter (depending on variety) and are said to spread. I thought it would be a nice way to get some color when nothing else is up. However, they need to be planted with the top of their bulb at the soil surface. Very shortly after planting, I found some of my bulbs laying around the yard with nibbles out of them. The rest were missing. The ones I replanted (in the vain hope that the squirrels had lost their taste for them) also disappeared. I also had Iris (surface planted) that were long established plants that one spring were ENTIRELY missing. I couldn't find the tiniest shred of them. But, I've planted more Iris in a bed close to my house that so far, have been untouched. Some years tulips have been a squirrel casualty if they get hungry enough to dig some. Though with our heavy clay, most years established tulips are usually pretty safe.

So, it depends; on your soil (heavy or light), planting depth, local critter population, and degree of critter motivation (availability of other food sources), and critter risk tolerance (an agressive cat can do wonders to keep them at bay). Also freshly dug earth attracts them. Plant deep and mulch, and you should have no problems.

-Helen

YES YES THEY DO! Sorry but I just planted about 8-10 oriental lily bulbs, overnight almost all of them were ripped out of the ground. I replanted the ones I thought would still grow. Every single day since then more have been yanked out and mauled or eaten, stems snapped, tossed around. I put them in individual holes about the width of the bulb scattered through the garden. I have heavy clay soil. I have lots of other things in the garden. My squirrels comb over every inch of the garden every single day, I have herds of them and I dream of a squirrel plague. My squirrels also dig up garlic and eat hot peppers. I live in an urban area with lots of dogs, people and cats.

Wow. My old thread pops up. for a long time, I planted lilies without having to worry about this. Then, suddenly last fall, they wreaked havoc. OF COURSE this was the year I bought pricey new varieties of orienpets and trumpets. I found shredded lily scales in the garden the next morning. I had planted in the spring and summer and early fall without a problem. Suddenly in mid October, they attacked the new plantings. When I plant tulips, crocus and other known squirrel candy, I always pin wire mesh over the top, and sprinkle with red pepper. If I'd known, I could have done that with my much more expensive lilies. I then pull off the mesh in the spring when things start popping up. Once I knew, I covered them all with mesh: but the worst damage was done.

They also dug up things I didn't expect they would go for. I planted trilliums for the first time. WHY THOSE?! Aren't woods full of trilliums?!

I just purchased a really nice calla lily plant and the next day, one of the new budding flowers had been chewed off. Today, the last flower was ripped off! It appears to happen at night or really early in the morning and I'm guessing it's the squirrels. I have a little family of 3 black ones that rummage in my garden all day (I was feeding birds over the snowy winter and give them peanuts) I think it's my fault for inviting them in and now they won't leave! This clarifies why the calla lily I planted a couple years ago never comes up. We also have a serious mole or vole problem so maybe they ate it as my new one is in a pot. It looks like they just chewed it off without really eating it, the bud is just sitting on the ground. Little buggers!