Planting tips

I'd like to hear from all you experts, give us your best tips for healthy blooms and detering the critters please. My new lilies are here and I'm sure I could learn a few things.

I'll go first though I'm not an expert by any means.

I think there are 4 very important things to consider when planting lily bulbs.

Drainage -- good draining soil a must - no standing water
Organic ammendments -- leaf mold or compost mixed in the soil is great
Sun -- at least 4 hrs of sun per day minimum - 6 is better (there are some exceptions)
Mulch well to keep soil temps moderate and moisture available.

When it comes to the actual planting -- plant DEEP, then water in well. I think that combo helps to deter squirrels at least.

I know others do things very differently and you must sort through and do what works best for you. I'm responding from a much colder zone

Sue covered pretty much what I do. I don't have leaf mold and have to buy my compost so I'll use either compost or peat whichever I happen to have on mand to mix in to the backfill.

I bought one of those Bulb Augers that fit on a cordless drill to do my planting this year. (Too many holes to dig) It makes a nice perfectly round hole up to about 8 inches deep for those really big bulbs.

My top 3 are:
Drainage
Lots of Sun (except some species lilies)
and Mulch VERY well.

I also spray Liquid Fence on my buds in summer to prevent deer munching them. Although I got a privacy fence this year so hopefully I won't have that problem next year!

I guess I really don't do anything special for my bulbs, I'm blessed with really good soil. But I have ruthless bunnies and squirrels and swear by Liquid Fence. I've mentioned this before, but here is another line of products I haven't tried personally, but are money-back guaranteed http://www.nottonight.com (and it's funny!)

How "deep" should I plant asiatic lilies? The soil they'll be planted in has a lot of clay in it, but I dug about 12" down and added compost, perilite, some sand, and Whitney Farms potting soil. The raised bed I'll be planting in gets full sun for most of the day.

Sounds like you're off to a pretty good start! Especially the deep digging part. Bulbs should be planted at a depth 2-3 times the height of the bulb.