The missing sargentiae bulbs reminds me of a time when a fellow NARGS chapter member presented me with a gift of a Lilium formosanum var. pricei. It was freshly dug and had a bud. (I don't know what possessed her to dig it up then, except that it would probably be the only time she would see me, maybe for the whole year.) Anyway, the bulb was missing, but there were lots of stem roots. I planted it, and since there was no bulb and it would die anyway come winter, I let it bloom and produce seed. It did, and it did, and I was quite impressed.
L. taliense tends to be a very fast grower. I'd much rather have more small bulbs than fewer larger ones.
