[shokkyy]

Am I too late to do them from seed? Is it just plugs now? I want to plant up some containers of tulip and lily bulbs and wanted to put a bit of winter/early spring colour around them, but of course I didn't plan ahead.

Incidentally - when I was shopping around for lily bulbs, I discovered that Parkers are an incredibly good bargain for them. Everyone else seems to charge quite a lot for lily bulbs. Trouble is, there's such a fantastic choice that I'm having trouble limiting myself to about 40 or 50 bulbs, and even if the bulbs are at bargain prices that's going to take an awful lot of biggish containers. I just adore the smell of them, but it has to be containers because I've tried them in  my beds before and they can't cope with my clay soil.

[New shoot]

I think you would get seed to germinate, but the plants need to be up to flowering size before winter really sets in or they will not do anything until next spring.

Plugs might be a better bet if you want winter colour