Ditto here. On an existing bed, I gingerly insert a narrow trowel and try not to dig deeply to add a new bulb. Now, my new Alliums or tulips are planted only a couple inches deep because I know deep down below there is another treasure, usually some choiced Narcissi that may get sliced if I am not careful. I then top off with compost and a bit of topsoil. I plan to mulch later on when all other garden chores are done for the season.

They will eat the bulbs...but I've never seen them eat the shoots. They will however pull them up, which for a lily is bad because the bulb only sends up one shoot a year. That being said, I've got hundreds of lilies in my yard, and lots of squirrels as well. What I do is put chicken wire over the planting area. This not only prevents them from digging, but also irritates their feet, so if they are going to mess with the shoots, then won't. But, I do have lots of lilies with now chicken wire over then, and have never lost a shoot to a squirrel, or any other animal.

Hi Deanna, Bulbs store energy for the plant that can tide it over during rough times. So, rotted stems are like busted stems, as long as the bulb is large enough to support itself through next year (its not a tiny bulblet) it will come back, just a little smaller. This may result in a smaller plant with fewer blooms the first season but it will otherwise be fine. The thing to check is whether or not the bulbs have healthy looking roots. In the Fall if you find that the bulb and roots are rotten I wouldn't bother to plant it. Stressed bulbs often will decide to take a season off and not send up foliage (or abort growth already started). Instead it will spend its time growing new roots. So that doesn't mean they are dead. It sounds like your stems got the fungal disease botrytis possibly from overwatering. With your curled up new sprouts (possibly lieing along the soil) this would be an easy thing to have happen. Putting late planted bulbs in pots is usually a good idea since you can use sterile well draining soil and, depending on where you put the pot, control watering and sun. So don't hesitate to do that in the future. Botrytis strikes plenty of lilies in the garden as well. I'd cut away any diseased foliage (and throw it out securely) and spray the remaining foliage and the pots soil surface with a rose fungal spray. I've included a link with some info. -Helen Here is a link that might be useful: Plantlilies botytis link

Rather depends on what the bulbs are, where you live, what condition the bulbs are in and the temperature they've been stored at. But for spring flowering bulbs that haven't been chilled, yes, it is probably too late to get a decent show. But you cannot UID still plant them and hope they recover fur next spring.