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.

those are petunias. that was the only picture that had an orange lily blooming. They must have finished up. I also do white alysumn from seed. This year I did a light yellow petunia , year before pink petunia then year before that marigolds. That way the calendulas and dahlias don't get covered up.

First, it is absolutely the wrong time of year to be finding lily bulbs for sale!! Started or flowering lily plants, yes; bulbs, no!! Lily bulbs are usually offered in spring and sometimes in fall. They never go fully dormant like many other bulbs do and do not store well at all. They should be planted as soon as they come into stores (March in my area). Lily bulbs available now will either be very dry and desiccated or soft and mushy....neither will grow to produce a flowering plant next season. What you are finding now at a dollar store are just some other retailers older cast-offs and not worth any amount of $$, no matter how cheap! Daffodils, tulips, crocus and other spring flowering bulbs should be available right around Labor Day in most parts of the country and can be planted as soon as the summer temps cool with the start of fall. You might also be able to find lily bulbs available then as well, depending on your location. In general, spring flowering bulbs will be available in stores in early fall....summer flowering bulbs (lilies, glads, dahlias, etc.) in late winter/early spring. Any bulbs you find for sale in midsummer will be stale and not very vigorous, if they even grow at all. And while it will be a pretty basic selection, the box stores (HD, Lowe's, etc.) and places like Walmart sell them pretty inexpensively if the budget is tight.