I admit it, I am not a fan of daylilies. I have limited garden space and they have too big of a footprint. Plus, I’m not a fan of their messy, spidery foliage. Instead, I have successfully turned my focus to Asiatic and Oriental lilies (such as the adorable “Orange Pixie” shown at left, a dwarf Asiatic lilium now in bloom in my garden). I have several dwarf lilies in orange, red, pink, and white, as well as a 4-foot showstopper of an Oriental Lily called “Royal Sunset.” The benefit of these plants (other than the huge blooms, tropical colors, and heady fragrance) is their neat and compact foliage. They rise up on narrow but hardy stems from between their larger, messier garden mates, bloom fabulously, and then stay relatively incognito the rest of the summer. No matter how crowded your garden, believe me, you have room for these! I hope to add more next season.
Asiatic and Oriental Lilies
June 6, 2010 by Cait
Cait's Garden 
You are absolutely right about this. I have a bed of daylilies that came with the house that I basically ignore. They do their thing in shady, dry clay soil and I leave them around. Elsewhere in the yard I have planted cheerful, bright Asiatics that I adore although none of mine are blooming yet this year. I did lose a bed of orange ones. I’ve never figured out why. I’m guessing either too shady or too overgrown.
I lied. A dark red lily is in spectacular bloom today. What makes it all the sweeter is I’m pretty sure it started as a bulb that I bought cheap at Dollar General years ago!
I saw the photo you posted of your red lily. Nice! I have one about to open. I haven’t lost any of the lilies I planted yet, although oddly, one of them skipped a year. I bought it two summers ago, it didn’t come up at all last year (not even a leaf), and this year it’s back with a vengeance. Must be a bulb thing! But overall, I’ve been impressed with their reliability.