Lily Bulbs w/ Sprouts?

About a month ago, I bought a bunch of clearanced bulbs from Wal-mart and Home Depot. Just now getting around to planting the last of them. Noticed the Blackout Lily bulbs are already sprouting in the bag! Some of the sprouts are 2-3 inches long! How should I proceed? Plant them normally and entirely under 4-6" of soil like the directions say? Or should I plant them with the sprouts above the ground as if they've just grown? If I plant them like normal, will the sprouts still find their way out? And if I plant them above soil as if they've just sprouted... will the green up? Cause they're currently a pinkish white! Please forgive me as I'm a newbie and am super confused! I just want to do what's right so they'll hopefully have a good chance at growing! I'm really looking forward to these! =-)

Keep adding soil as the stems grow if you plan to keep them in this container.

Keep in mind that the lilies need to be planted at least 6 inches deep and 6 inches from each other to enable proper root growth.

Once the sprout has expanded and leafed out, as yours have, DO NOT cover it with with more soil. As it grows, you may notice some nubby stem roots at the soil line ~ then you may then add a little soil to cover them.

Bulbs sprouted in the bag are used to a moist environment and are quite tender. I've found the best way to handle sprouted bulbs is to pot them and place a baggie loosely over the pot, making sure there is no contact with the foliage. Lift the plastic a few times a day to expose them to air. If there are moisture droplets in the bag, then it's too damp and need to dry out a bit.

As soon as they start to grow and the bag is no longer needed, begin to harden them off. When they're ready to be outdoors, plant them where you like. Don't worry about the depth of the bulb, as the contractile roots is pull them down to where they want to be.

Hope this helps. :)

So... it's okay that I planted the sprouts out of the ground? *sigh of relief* Was worried that was a bad thing! Will they eventually green up? Cause as you can see... right now they're pink/yellow/white. The container is only temporary until I figure out where I'm going to put them! I figured I could transplant them once they started growing. The bulbs are definitely 6" deep. Spacing... umm... not so much! I guess I need to fix that!

No worries ~ you did good! Place them in a sunny window (not direct sun) and they will green up. Easy on the water, they prefer to be drier rather than soaked.

As for the spacing, it's not a huge concern as they won't get very big this year. When you get to the point that you plant them out, lift the whole thing out of the container and place in the ground. If you're able, keep the soil around the roots intact. When the stems die back in the Fall, then you can dig and space them as you like.