I have started them indoors before, no problems with transplanting, and planted them directly in the garden in both spring and fall. I found the ones started in the garden in spring didn't do as well as the ones I planted in the fall. When I started them indoors, I started about now. I tried them earlier but they got to tall. When you move them out into the garden, don't forget to harden them off first. Marg

Where do you live? Is your ground still frozen? As soon as your soil is workable you can plant your lily bulbs - you will likely be planting them at a depth of 6 inches or greater so there is no danger of them freezing that deep if your ground is already workable. And then by the time they start to poke through the ground they will be well hardened off and ready to take any frost (remember they are perennials and can take frost conditions).

I usually buy lilies(and other stuff) at Costco.....this is my system.I plant the lilies 3 to a pot and set them in the basement. They get light from a ceiling fluorescent that is about 6 and a half feet about them. I water them moderately and it is rather cool down there.When weather permits I move the to the back shed....there is good light there. ....then as things warm up they go to a sheltered position in the back yard. Finally I simply sink them in the garden pot and all. They are fine in the pots...they live there, grow there, and finally bloom there. When the normal fall time of lily planting comes around, I remove them from the pots and plant them in their permanent location Lilies are best planted in the fall, but we all know that the deals are in the spring and the bulbs have undoubtedly come over from Holland...so we have to do the best we can. My system allows me to move new (spring planted)lilies around in mid-season and also to give some as gifts in full bloom. My puchase this year was Scheherazade, an Orienpet hybrid that is really a knockout in bloom.....17.99 for 18 bulbs at Costco.... and normally about $10 per bulb from lily specialists.Good luck with the lilies. newine

Thanks for the replies all. I think I will do what newine suggests...start them off in the basement.

Costco has some great deals, don't they? I got 5 clematis plants (nice ones too!) for $16.00 the other day!

s