(1) The seed need a cold treatment at 40F for 2-3 months. this can be achieved by storing seed in refrigator or sowing them outside in the fall (1b) Depth of seed just lightly cover them (2) Normally not all the seed will be viable BUT what % varies from plant, season growing conditions, time left on plant etc etc... may test butif you just go ahead & plant ... and if you get to many plants give the extras to neighbors, friends

My lilies were pretty good this year, but I do water. We had a LOT of water in late May, then thru into June. People couldn't get their hay in. We had about a month of fairly cold winter, good frozen ground, down deep. It didn't happen until Feb. I would call it a pretty mild winter, hardly any weather below zero F. The early lilies came and went quickly in that rain. They were a bit short, not tiny though and on older bulbs. I only planted a few new bulbs of any kind last year. The new ones did nothing but foliage, but they were small so no surprise there. Ebay purchases. All the rest of my lilies have been pretty wonderful, just seems they go fast in our heat and humidity this season. My raised beds seem to need more watering, have better drainage. I plant a lot of smaller Allium, different kinds, in there to protect the bulbs. Also have the Tulip Imperials, in that bed, really stinky bulbs, for bulb protection of real Tulips from mice and voles. Our squirrels have plenty of nuts and seeds, don't seem to bother the bulbs much if dirt is not disturbed. I leave my Tulips in place over summer so this works OK. My Trumpet lilies were about normal size, plenty of blooms, along with the Tiger lilies, Orientals and the now blooming Orienipets. The Orienipets are in their 2nd summer, so I thought 5ft, 25 blooms a stem, was a good show for them. I do like the color, gentle scents. PLUS, I am the only one with them or any lilies in the neighborhood!! We get a lot of bike riders, some walkers, going by who compliment me on the flowers, great smells. Always nice to hear!! I am real busy at beheading all stems which are done blooming. I don't want to waste plant energy on growing seeds, so I cut off all the tops as blooms disappear. Might be helpful to those small lilies this year, send the energy back to making better bulbs. I do think most of my garden stuff was ahead this year, bloomed early. Much came and went very quickly, maybe the humidity, though we have had GREAT weather locally. Really only terribly hot the last couple weeks. Getting pretty dry though we are getting some showers, enough to even make puddles. I would say we are still in drought. Trees are showing stress, dry, leaves falling, brown edges. Better luck next year, hope that rotten red lily bug doesn't arrive with next season of growth. Much complaining about it from Eastern folks.

What can I do to help my Oriental Lily? The leaves turn yellow every year before they bloom, this has happened for three years. They either do not bloom or have week stems, the yellowing starts with the top most leaves (NOT the Bottom?. I beleive this is due to a Maple located about 10-feet away from my raised bed, it keeps choking out all my bulbs and I keep chopping off it roots. The tree does not block the morning or afternoon sun but it leaves the soil dry even if I water everyday?? I have transplanted all my bulbs to pots in a mic of purchased potting soil and well composted bed soil. What can I add to this to keep the bulbs especially the oriental lilys and make them strong?

You could repot the plant, which is what I would do. The reason is that I would want to know what kind of potting mix the plant is growing in, rather than let it remain in the unknown mix which came from the store. Sometimes I also feel the mix they provide is some cheap mix, just enough to get the plant on the shelves and into someone's ownership, where the eventual death of the plant could be from many reasons, but the owner will sometimes think it is because they didn't know how to take care of it. The conditions you described could have several causes. In general, make sure it has enough lighting and don't overwater or underwater.