Lilium longiflorum question

hi all,
i am a newbie on lilies so please bear with me.
a friend works in a florist shop and last year after easter, she gave me a leftover "easter lily". i read up on them and planted it with the roots shaded and the top to eventually be in full sun. it stayed green a good long time and then slowly died down to nothing. early this spring (february) i clipped the dead stalks off and a few weeks later green started sprouting up. the way i understood it, this particular lily doesn't get very tall. the two stalks just started opening up this week and one stalk is about 3.5' tall and the other is a good 5'. is this normal?
i've attached some pictures to get a hopefully positive id.
thanks so much.

the third image is supposed to show a yellowish/gold line running along the outside of the petal.

You may have seen this
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/2841/

I'm guessing this lily does grow in your zone (9-11) and was probably forced into bloom last year. When I have transplanted lilies (not bulbs), I have gotten unpredictable results the first year. I thought I was doing the plants a favor by separating plants that were too close, and the end result was poorer bloom.

I suspect that after this season, you will have more uniform growth. Lilies can take a bit of abuse, but cannot stand wet feet, so may sure you have good drainage. If you cannot provide good drainage, move the plant to a large container that is at least 12 inches in diameter with good drainage holes. With the exception of predators, lilies seldom require much attention. Feed sparingly.

Marcia

hey there,
thanks for responding and thanks for the link. good reading there.
yes, this lily does do very well in central florida. i see them everywhere.
this particular plant i have was a forced florist plant from out of state and it was the typical height you see all over at easter time. i have it planted in a perfect spot and it loves it there and it's not the uniform growth i was asking about. i think it is pretty rare to have any stems of any plant exactly the same size. what i was asking about, and not very clearly (lol), was the cultivar this one might be. my book lists several cultivars but none of them reach 5'. of course, it could be that this one is stretching a little to the sun but i'm thinking that there probably are a lot more cultivars that i've not heard of.....or could it be an entirely different species? of that i would think not but i just don't know.

I have lilies with 5' stems, but the lilies we grow here are winter hardy to about zone 4 and none of mine produce more than one stem per bulb unless it is an anomaly.

As long it is happy in its location, it will give you at least 2-4 weeks of happiness each year and maybe encourage you to try out some other liliums if you haven't already.

If I'm not mistaken this is an orienpet. It grows to about 5 feet. I think it is in its fourth year. Bloomed around July 6th last year. Can you smell the perfume?
Marcia

in retrospect, i think i was given two plants so that would explain the two stems. that flower is beautiful!