I, too, bought Stargazers at the super market at 50% off after last Easter. I planted them in the garden after they bloomed but had to dig them up when I had to have work done on the irrigation system. They're now back in pots and acting like it's spring. And we have some cold weather coming. Here in Jacksonville, it CAN get cold enough for lillies, but it can also be too warm or cold at all the wrong times. To date, most of the bulbs of any kind that I've planted have grown like crazy but very few have bloomed. This could be a fertilizer/food problem and I'm open to suggestions. But finding room in the 'fridge for bulbs at my house would be a major accomplishment! cora

I think I am going to have to buy a lot. I went around today looking at my plants and almost half of all my perennials look the same! Last year they were fine. Even my peonies that have been in the ground for three years seem to have this this year. What causes soil to turn iron deficient? Is there a plant I could plant with everything that puts iron back IN the soil? Or do I just have to keep getting iron supplement for my gardens?

Your lilies will be bigger next year. Some bulbs which are on the smaller side when planted take an extra year to give full tall growth. Your Stargazers will all bloom together at the same time period once they get established. If you move them in the fall they might be the same size as this year & take one more year to be full size. Planting new bulbs this fall will most likely give you the same size because they too will take the extra year to grow to full size. You could take the Stargazer out this fall & condition the soil which would be good for the plants in the long run. The most important thing to remember is to remove the flower heads once they are done flowering & leave the foliage to turn yellow/brown before you remove the dead stems. Leaving the stems to yellow out feeds the bulb for next year & will give you a stronger plant with more flowers the following year. Never remove the foliage while it is still green or you will weaken the bulbs & have small growth & maybe no flowers. Lilies also like to be kept moist.

I hope your lily bloomed okay. With 5 stems (probably individual plants and bulbs) they may have been too crowded. If they get too crowded there won't be enough nutrients for all of them and they will stop blooming which may have been your problem before you moved them. You need to dig them up again and separate the 5 bulbs (and any new ones from this year). Then plant the largest one back in the same place. The others you can plant elsewhere in your garden. If you want several close together you can plant the bulbs in groups - just make sure you leave at least 10-12" between the bulbs. I hope this helps.