So after i plant the lily bulbs, on average, how long until i start to see stalks coming up through the ground so i know the bulbs will be good?
New to bulb planting
The lily bulbs I planted were all somewhat sprouted. Were yours? If they were sprouted, it can be a couple of weeks - that's what I am experiencing. Almost all of the bulbs I have received this year are sprouted. You have to handle them with care, but I love it.
If you get dried out lily bulbs the chances that they will sprout are poor. Again, lilies never go dormant and should not be allows to dry out. I think that this is something you would notice. If the bulbs are very small there may be a delay of as long as a year. In my experience, a vendor with very small bulbs will either decline to ship it, or they will discount it and/or give you more bulbs. If this happens with a relatively good lily, it is worth keeping. A really good provider was disappointed with the size of a bulb I had been trying to get for two years (scarcity) so she sent them but also sent three bulbs free that she (quite correctly!) thought I would like.
I got ten a few days ago from B&B. They were sprouted. Now that I have put them in the ground I have to wait for a reappearance.
You will see the top bit of the bulb. If you have mulched they can be hard to spot. Or if you have buried them deeply, which is actually good for them.
Please let us know how it goes.
Donna