How long after planting will Lilies of the Valley come up?

Early this spring (beginning of March), I found two types of Lily of the Valley at Wally-world. One was a package of 16 white bare roots, and the other had had 3 pink ones. I planted them in two different, small beds, each one well-contained because I had read about their possible invasiveness. I certainly didn't expect them to bloom this year, but I'm a little concerned that not a single one has foliage poking out of the ground. I'm even wondering if I might have planted them upside down or something.

Should I expect them to have come up by now, or will I have to wait until next spring? Is it possible that they were old and perhaps dead, or am I just being impatient?

Hi Lono, to start trying to help, Lily-Of-The -Valley are rooted plants, so what you should have got from the store was what I can only discribe as hairy looking roots, they are early spring flowering and you are right in as much that you always see the foliage befor the flowers, they like a cool semi shade place to do good, however, I have seen them in sun but, that never worked for me as the reali orgion is woodlands, in the planting hole you should try give as much leaf mould as poss, unfortunately, they have done flowering for this year(mine have the foliage all yellow and I'm ready to remove this to dicourage snails, but yes, I agree, I would have thought maybe a bit of green should have been evident when you bought them, especialy by now, I would not give up, in fact I'd advise lifting them, put in a pot with the conditions I gave you and leave them somewhere shaded, water as for any plant and by Jan/feb next year you should see sign of life, maybe the roots were dried out before you got them, or as you said, too old, I am surprised that the stores were selling them this late as around March is when they normally bloom and give off that wonderful perfume, by the way, they sometimes are rampant, but they do take a great number of years to get to the devision stage and a while to settle into your spot, Dont bury them too deep either. hope this helps you, it is annoying when you are disapointed though. good luck weeNel.

Thank you, WeeNel. I did think about digging them back up again, but I was afraid to do this if I was just being impatient. I do have a bag full of leaf mold I cleaned out of the back of an old pick-up truck, and I've been saving it for a special occasion! Should I put any regular soil inside the pot, or just let them sit in the leaf mold?

I was a little irritated myself at seeing them in the store when it was out of season for planting. Silly me-- I thought the fact that they were for sale (and in their own, big display no less) meant it was time to plant them. I didn't realize until after I got home and read up on them that it was too late.

Hi again lono, yes you will need to mix some soil with the leaf mould, unless it has completely composted and looks like compost, if it has, that would be the best for them and forget the soil, as I said before, they are origionaly plants that grew in dappled shaded woodlands in the wild, then they had to rely on the leaf fall for their neutrients and in time, this would rot down into compost, if you are going to put them onto pots, dont forget to water them from time to time and stick a label in them with the date you planted them as I would think that by a couple of years if still no greenery, then you will prob not get them to grow at all, but they do need time to clump up, so dont be tooo hastey, you should see some kind of life by early next spring, maybe not flowers, but for sure, leaves. One of my friends grows some in pots and JUST as the flowers are about to open, she brings this indoors and the perfume in the house is wonderfull, then after, she dumps them back outside to do the cycle again for the next year. good luck, hope the go for you.
WeeNel.