When to Move Lillies?

I have some fairy lillies, and asiatic lillies that have not performed
/bloomed well in their current location. The fairy lillies naturalize great,
but rarely bloom. Since I am in a warmer climate, when should I move
them, and do they need a cold spell before replanting? Does the vegetation
need to stay on when I move them?

Hi Twohawk, as you are in a warmer climate, it is hard to understand why your lily's have failed to flower for you, perhaps it is the soil conditions, maybe a light problem or maybe the actual bulbs are still immature, so more info would be helpful, like how old are the bulbs, have they got some disease underground, do you feed them, are they in too much shade, do they get enough moisture, all these things are the main reason for bulbs to grow blind as they say when flowering fails but foliage grows well, I take it you know that lily's only flower once each year and dont send out more flower heads, just thought I should mention that.
As regards when to move them, I have just lifted my lily's as I need to empty my herbaceous borders to split things up, so what I have done is used the garden fork, dug it a good 6 inches away from where the bulbs are so as not to damage the very fleshy bulbs and put them into new compost in pots till I can get everything out from the borders, I will keep the bulbs in the pots till early next spring, I have mixed some general food into the compost, some bulbs come out with the foliage still in tack, be gentle as this can come away with the handling (if it does, dont worry too much, but it is better if you can let the greenery die down into the bulbs as this gives the bulb energy for the next season) some lily's have little black bulbils stuck to the stems at the leaf Axel's, plant these in pots and care for them, next year they will send out tiny foliage so care for them with water etc, in about 3 years time, you will have fully flowering size bulbs to plant out into the borders, some multiply by sending out new bulbs from the parent bulb under ground so be careful when you lift them as the one bulb you planted might have 2/3 babies attached to it, you can either do as I did and pot them till you have the time to prepare the new soil, or just put them directly into the new area and give them a feed added to the planting hole, also good idea to add some good compost to the soil as they dont like to be starved of moisture or food, remember to add some sort of marker like a cane so you know where the new shoots will come through for next year as it is so easy to damage the fleshy bulbs as you work along your borders come spring, add labels to pots so you know whats in the pots too, always gently remove the soil around the bulbs as you lift them, then check them over to see if they have either rotted or have some form of disease, dont replant any diseased bulbs as you will spread it to any other bulbs around your garden especially if you are moving them anywhere close to other bulbs, Lily bulbs when healthy should be plump but firm, if the outer scales are slightly damaged, then just peel away those gently and replant the good bulbs, but destroy the damages scales, if healthy scales do fall off the bulbs as you lift them, drop these into a plastic bag with some horticultural sand, seal the bag with some air in it and place it in the warmer part of your refrigerator (salad box usually has a warmer temp) for about 2 weeks, remove the bag and gently check to see if the scales have sent out new little bulbs at the base, then plant these into pots for about 3 years and hey presto, you have new lily bulbs the exact same as the parent plant, good luck, hope this helps you some. WeeNel.

WeeNel, Thank you for valuable information. The bulbs are several
years old, and live in rich, humous soil. All the bulbs seem
firm, and healthy.I am convinced the issue is not enough sun. I did
move a handful to a new, sunnier location and a couple of those recently
bloomed, but, I feel with the most day shade and 2-3 hours afternoon
sun is just not enough. I am still building my new, sunny beds, and will
move them there over the next couple of weeks. Your help will go a long
way toward a more beautiful garden, as I have several different bulb
flowers on their way for me to try.

Towhawk, you have just learned the first lesson in gardening, "If at first you dont succeed, try, try again" you have done the right thing by checking the bulbs, you now know they dont have enough light and your soil conditions are good, so when you move the bulbs to their new site, add some plant feed to the soil for them to get a good boost as you said the bulbs are quite older, the warmth of the sunnier bed and a feed will do the trick and I am sure you will have many years of enjoyment from them, good luck and happy gardening, you can send us all a picture next summer to show off your lovely lily blooms. Weenel.

Thank you Weenel! A little TLC goes a long way. You are a Dear.