Last year was my first year growing them. I got some bare roots from a friend on August 8, planted them on August 10 and got blooms from them as early as August 20. That suggests they are hardy enough to be moved at any time. Mine are planted in the shade of my apple tree where the only things that grow well are bleeding hearts, hostas, ladies's mantle, and other shade lovers. This is not deep shade because the apple tree is quite tall. I would suggest you move them to a shady spot. The catalogues usually sell them as shade plants.

I think you would be fine with hydrangeas there. If salvias are too floppy, try some veronicas or agastaches. You might even be able to grow baptista (false indigo). I have a similar exposure in my zone 5 Iowa yard. Trees along one side, and then it slopes too, so it is a bit of an odd long bed. It used to be grass and mostly invasive Asian honesuckle shrubs. I have only been gardening at this house for 1 1/2 years, so I am still experimenting; plus I am new to this zone and previously lived in zone 9. I first considered this area part shade and planted accordingly. Now I see there are pockets of more and less sun. In this area the plants doing best are: Hostas--This surprised me, but I see them in full sun around town now that I have started looking. Not sure if it is the same for zone 6. Foam flower--this looks GREAT right now with tidy foliage and is still blooming. I had some red tulips behind the foam flower and they looked lovely. Columbines--flowering nicely with airy foliage. Agastache--the one I have has short white flowers, but blues are common I think. Overwintered and re-sowed abundantly. My soil drains well so may be why they like it there. Garden phlox--were small plants last year from Bluestone spring sale. SO far they are growing nicely but will see if they flop. Today the whole area seemed to be in so much sun! Daylillies--will see how they do this year Foxglove--sowed last summer, getting ready to bloom, seems to be good for them in this spot. Monarda, bloomed last summer and no flopping. Soloman's seal--in a shadier pocket, but still gets some afternoon sun. Doing really well right now. helleborus--one little helleborus which has been doing great so far this spring, to my surprise. When I realized how sunny the spot was, I thought I'd move this little plant, but it is doign well. Toad lily--these are growing nicely and had attractive late flowers last year. Lobelia--there are some nice blue lobelias available. low growing veronicas--doing very well and blooming profusely. Happy planting. :)

Hmm...blackberry lily is a very tough plant and can handle full sun--even in Florida. It's also one of those plants that will grow and blossom in shade--as long as it's not deep shade. Have no fear and plant it in full sun, but just don't set any tender young plants that have been used to shade into the full sun--you will need to acclimate them :)

Hi skeeziks, The sun/shade thing is just serendipitous, (maybe weaker bulbs or smaller varieties just happened to end up there or there are other garden conditions in play). Asiatics in particular like full sun and while Orientals can tolerate some shade they need to get ~ 4 hours of direct sun to do well. You are correct to feel that the situation should be reversed. In fact, the lilies planted under lots of trees receiving only dappled shade are not going to do well at all (sorry!). They may do OK for a year or two but will peter out. I wish it were different since most of my yard is the same type of shade as yours. I'm planting Maryland woodland natives in those areas. Your soil also sounds fine. I have the same clay you do and have even gotten lilies to grow pretty well without amending. (And Mid-Atlantic clay is pretty tough stuff!) With amendments it should work well. Just be sure that with the clay that they are not planted in a "wet spot". As for potential culprits, Late Planting: When in the Spring did you plant these bulbs? If you planted them in early Spring (mid April) your asiatics should have already bloomed by now. If you planted them is late Spring they could be way off schedule. Orientals are much later (normally bloom mid July - August) and if they were planted late would be even later than normal. Are you sure they have stopped growing? Bulb Condition: What size were the bulbs? (Small bulbs = small plants with few if any buds.) Did they have any roots? Were they moist? Were these bulbs intended for Spring sale (or Fall leftovers), did it look like they sat on the shelf for a long time. Lily bulbs don't go fully dormant and so shouldn't be out of the ground for long periods unless packed away with moist peat moss and refrigerated over the winter. A stressed bulb puts its energy into growing new roots and recovering and sometimes doesn't put up foliage at all the first year. Bulb Variety: In addition to being short are the short plants also immature looking (thin stems and smaller leaves)? If immature that indicates a small bulb. If not, there are pixie asiatics that only get 1 foot tall when full grown. If you bought one of those mixed boxes of bulbs from a Sam's Club or other large chain retailer, they sit on the shelves WAY longer than they should, the bulbs are usually tiny compared to what you get from mailorder bulb companies, dry, and have little to no roots. The good news is that hybrid lilies can take a great deal of abuse and come back and perform well. Believe me, I had some Home Depot oriental bulbs I did everything in my power to kill and they are currently 5'-6' tall and full of buds. Next year you will probably discover that your lilies in part sun do great. If you decide to move the lilies that are in shade wait until their foliage dies back in the Fall. -Helen