Am I understanding you right? They grew, flowered, the flowers dropped, the stems/ leaves stayed green a while and now everything is brown?? This is normal and happens after the bulb has stored enough energy for next year. You may cut the stem off at ground level. Now if you want to save them you need to dig them up and FREEZE THEM for at least 8 weeks in the frig or a freezer. Lilies are like tulips. They ABSOLUTELY NEED a dormant period of being frozen. If you don't give them that they may never grow again. You DID NOT kill them nor overwater. Its normal cycle for Lilies. I'm in upper NY state so I can leave mine in the ground. Being where you are it is up to you when you dig & freeze but I'd guess dig them up around thanksgiving, put them in a non-growing medium like saw dust or dry peat, place in plastic freezer bags with some holes for air curculation, then leave in the freezer for 10 weeks. Then replant them. They'll be fine. You have a cold climate plant so it needs cold treatment. Up here I need to dig up GLADIOLUS and keep warm all winter as they arewarm climate plants. Ok? By the way Lilies will grow fine in full sun to full shade. Not fussy but prefer more sun. If you don't want to dig cold climate plants up and freeze them it would be better to buy warmer weather plants like Glads, lantana, etc.

Hi Ossie,
Lilies die back at the end of summer so what's happening is completely normal. Now that the leaves are yellowing they are no longer feeding the bulb and may be cut back. The only issue for you is that it may not get cold enough in the winter where you are for them to "vernalize" and come back in the spring. I'm not familiar with the San Gabriel Valley but If your zone is higher than 8 you might want to dig them up, pack in lightly moist peat moss, and refrigerate. Then replant in the Spring. You can also treat lilies as annuals purchasing new bulbs in the Spring since lilies sold in the Spring have been pre-cooled.

-Helen

Thanks lillium_guy56 and Helen. The San Gabriel Valley is a suburb of Los Angeles, CA., it gets hotter than L.A. as do all of the valley areas in L.A. winters are mild, cold for us is 60's. Thanks for all of your info I will cut my plant and dig up the bulbs and refrigerate them.