Daylilies are easy plants in any soil except very dry. They thrive in sun or part shade. Their bright, light green foliage is valued in early spring. Later these grassy clumps make good ground cover. Cultivated forms tend to have bigger flowers and a range of striking colours, including reds and oranges suitable for a hot border. The species can be a little smaller and often yellow.
Species and forms vary according to whether they are day-scented and bee-pollinated or night-scented and moth-pollinated: although flowers last only for a day (the clue is in the name), they are produced sequentially over a longer period. The exserted stamens are a rich source of pollen that is eaten by several species of hoverfly. With clumped shoots, they provide cover for invertebrates and amphibians, but if they escape they can, and increasingly do, dominate natural habitats, so steps should be taken to limit their spread outside of cultivation.