Be careful on this-I recently noticed that some lilies I planted last year had heaved & were at the top of the ground. They hadn't started growth yet, so I thought now is a good time to dig & plant deeper. Stuck my shovel in & spliced right into the bulb. The bulb/bulbs at the top of the soil were offsets of the main bulb which was still deep where I planted it. I could just kick myself. The bulb probably isn't totally ruined, but I doubt it blooms this year. I don't remember quite what lily it was, a LA type I think. As far as your lily surviving, it should be fine. Perhaps cover with a bit of soil to cover it & dig after the foliage turns yellow.

Don't worry about it, your original bulb is probably 8 to 12 inchs below, it's just giving birth to lots of new bulbs. Dig it up carefully next fall and pass them along to all of us! With a six footer your bulb will probably be the size of a baseball and the one protruding will be close to a golf ball if not larger

ngraham, you needed to tell me that before I put a shovel through my lily bulbs. It was exactly as you described :-(

Ain't it awful to do that. I think mine were new bulbs last year that I got on clearance. They had already grown a bit of the stem when I planted so they were crooked. In other words, the spot that the stem came out of the ground was a few inches away from where the bulb actually was. And of course, where do I "happen" to put my shovel? Yikes!

Update...seems even tho some part of the bulb, be it the mother bulb or an offshoot, is exposed...the darn thing is leafing out nicely, and judging by its thickness...it's putting out 2 nice and thick shoots, plus a few thinner ones...it's gonna be a nice grand tall display in a few months! Got to over 6 foot last year with maybe 20+ blooms...Now that there are 2 thick shoots tho...dunno how the buds will be divided up.

Will make sure to post photos when it blooms...

Todd In Philly