As long as you can work your soil, plant them now. Lilies do not benefit from prolonged storage. The bulbs never go fully dormant as do many other bulbs and they can begin to deteriorate rapidly. This is especially true if they are already showing signs of growth. If your soil is frozen (unlikely in a zone 7/8) or otherwise unworkable, you can plant the bulbs now in containers. You may need to provide some additional cold protection until the weather warms - a garage or basement should suffice - and then you can carefully transplant them into the garden or leave them in the containers until after bloom. I grow many lilies in containers - you can move them as you desire to fill holes in the garden or you can slip the plants, containers and all, in the ground. IME, the deeper planted the bulbs, the longer lived they are, providing you correctly address drainage and other cultural issues.

Is there a danger in planting stargazer lilies in a container on my deck outside this February? I impulsively bought these bulbs yesterday at Sam's club, and realized when I got home that my yard is not ready to plant in yet, since we are reseeding the grass and redoing the flowerbeds. The package instructs to plant them asap after purchasing.

These are true lilies (Lilium species) not day lilies (Hemerocallis), which are not lilies at all, despite the common name. And Stargazers, double or single, are oriental lilies with a mid to late summer bloom season. MidJuly is right on schedule!

Nicole, buy Liquid Fence to spray the lilies as soon as the buds appear. Deer love the buds and you will never enjoy a flower if you don 't spray them about every two weeks. The deer eat the plants in early Spring, plants will recover. The deer must come through and check the scapes for buds. When just the right size they eat every bud and leave the scape. Plants survive to feed them another year.