First of all I am in Zone 5. the snow is not totally melted yet and the ground is really frozen.
the lily company that I ordered some of the bulbs are shipping them out next week since they just dug them from their garden
do I just plant them in pots for now

the big bed is not ready yet and can not access that area to start the bed till the snow is gone

I just do not like the idea of starting bulbs in put with weather that can still dip below freezing

the pots are 10 tall by 12 wide ......and wander if I can just put a double layer of frost blanket over then for the time being before the temps warm up.
our last days of frost are the end of May...........
so still have quite a while to do in the pots.......

the frost blankets are good to -5C with one and I am sure lower with 2 of them.........
will plant the bulbs 5 to 6 inches deep in the pots
there a quite a few lilies to go in and quite a few pots
since many of these are species lilies I do not want to loose any of them

and keeping them in the fridge until the end of May seems a bit extreme.....

With all due respect Pat, you really need to order from Lily specialist companies to get the care of shipping at the right time. If you go with a very varied bulb company they will ship when it's convenient for them. Not in all cases but I mainly order from Faraway Flowers, The Lily garden, and B&D lilies and always get my bulbs pretty close to the right time. I would put your bulbs in the fridge and monitor that they don't sprout too much.

Spring-sold lilies shouldn't be dug in the spring for shipping. They are dug the previous fall and stored under refrigeration to keep them from sprouting. If your bulbs are sprouting when you get them they need to be planted, not necessarily in many pots. A big box(es) will do, where there will be slightly moist soil under and over the bulbs, then keep them cool in the dark for careful transplanting to the garden. You will want to be careful to not break off the sprout or roots if you can help it.

Can you tell us the names of some of the lilies you are buying? Just curious here .

Here are a few of the lily mail order places in Canada: The Lily Nook, S-W Gardens, Valley K.

10 L. Regale
some other Asiatic and some OT..
3 martagon album
L. auratum var. platyphyllum 10 of them


these are coming from S-W Gardens. I believe they know what they are doing there. they are very knowledgeable in all aspects of lilies and so on.
some of these are think are from the Canada Blooms that did not sell and some are dug up.....
most of these are late blooming lilies but the Asiatic

My receipt in excel and it makes it hard to copy and paste all of the lilies that I got

I also ordered some from the Lily Nook and heard nothing as to when they are coming but he did say he starts to ship In April and into May

some other Asiatic and a few other types are coming from Brecks and they are not shipped until the first week of May. they are very specific in that they are shipped on the right date for planting.

I looked ahead and April is not looking that bad for weather here.....warmer temps and then the first of May a heavy frost followed by some snow.......
the freeze thaw goes on here until the end of May usually.

any more advise??

if you want the names of all the lilies that I ordered I can find that out for you