Lilies - bought blooming in fall. Treat as an annual or can

Confession, I could not resist! I am in Zone 7A (Charlotte, NC) and I came across Asiatic and Calla Lilies in BLOOM (I know, probably grown in a green hours for an event)! Do I just enjoy the blooms and treat them as an annual or can I still plant them? If the latter, can I pant in the ground as is (foliage and blooms) before first frost or do I need to let them finish blooming, dig up, trim and store in peat?

Thank you, as an enthusiastic but novice gardener!!!

I'm so sorry that you didn't get an answer to your question. Hope you enjoyed the blooms and then planted the bulbs. :)

I apologize for just seeing this now, but I can help.

I too grow calla lilies. Those are easy. Are they in pots? If so, simply cut back the foliage and withhold water. Put them in a dark place - a closet, a basement. In spring, expose them to light an they will break dormancy. My basement has windows, so they naturally respond to the increasingly Lon days by sproutung. You can then repot them (I often simply add compost to the existing pots) water them and give them some bulb food, and they will grow beautifully and increase, yaer after year.

The lilies can simply be planted in your garden. Asiatic lilies are hardy.

Just saw your post, too, you are zone 7? If so, you should plant them all in your garden.

I often buy bloomed out lilies(after easter especially) when they are too cheap to pass up and plant them in my garden. I have had great success with them, and although it may take a year or two to get a bloom, the blooms do come, sooner or later!!!!!

I have a friend who has a micro-climate area near her house, who does grow callas outside in our zone 5 area?????

Judy