I bought maybe a dozen lilies last fall (mid-Oct 08) from my local lily society. They were asiatics, Orienpets, orientals, and species types.

Right after I bought them the weather turned really cold and it took more than 2 weeks to get them into the ground (maybe first to second week in Nov). We also had way too much rain before (a record-breakingly wet fall) and it was still sopping by the time I planted them. All the bulbs were a good size, still healthy looking, firm, and white when I planted them. While I waited for the weather to break I kept them in the garage where it was cool. Most of them were from the Lily Garden, which is the company my society uses mostly as the source for their fundraising bulbs.

Yet this summer, all of the bulbs underperformed, regardless of type. Not a single one grew over 18 inches tall, and a few looked very odd indeed, with one full sized flower atop a stunted stem of only a few inches.

Some of the asiatics did better, but still were less than half the height they should have been. Best were the earliest, Cappuccino and Starburst, 2 tango lilies. At least those had 3 flowers apiece.

These ones had no flowers at all:

Copper Crown, White Henryi (trumpets)

Silk Road, Touching (orienpets)

I think they performed even worse that the half-dried clearance lilies I bought at the hardware store last May!

SoÂwas it the rotten fall weather? Planted too late? Can I hope for better next year? That even being short, they were able to store enough energy to do a little better next year?

This year, there has also been too much rain. I still bought lilies, but fewer. At least I DID get them planted right away. Should I avoid buying lilies during a rainy fall?