How to Choose Lilies: Find the Right Lily for Your Garden

How to Choose Lilies: Find the Best Lily for Your Garden

Choosing lilies becomes much easier once you stop asking which flower looks best in a photograph and start asking which lily fits your garden. Asiatic, Martagon, Trumpet, Oriental, LA, Orienpet, Longiflorum, and species lilies can differ dramatically in fragrance, mature height, flowering season, soil preferences, and garden use.

A heavily scented Oriental lily may be perfect beside a terrace but frustrating in strongly alkaline soil. A compact Asiatic can fill a patio container with color yet disappear at the back of a deep border. A Martagon can bring graceful flowers into light woodland shade, while a towering Orienpet can become one of the architectural highlights of the summer garden.

The goal is not to find the “best lily” in the abstract. It is to find the best lily for your conditions and the effect you want.

If you first want to understand the formal horticultural classification, see Gardenia’s Types of Lilies: 9 Lilium Groups & Hybrids Explained. This guide tackles the practical question: which lilies should you actually choose?

Which Lily Should You Choose? Quick Comparison

1 For Beginners and Easy Color: Asiatic Lilies

If you are growing lilies for the first time, Asiatic lilies are one of the strongest starting points. They are vigorous, colorful, and available in everything from compact patio cultivars to substantial border lilies.

Most Asiatic lilies have little or no fragrance, which can be an advantage beside dining areas, smaller patios, or anywhere intense perfume would be distracting. They also flower toward the earlier part of the lily season.

3 Asiatic Lilies to Compare on Gardenia

• Lilium ‘Black Out’ – Deep carmine-red flowers on stems about 2-3 ft. (60-90 cm) tall. A dramatic choice for borders, containers, and cutting.
• Lilium ‘Dot Com’ – Large pinkish flowers heavily spotted toward the center, ideal when you want a bold, highly patterned Asiatic.
• Lilium ‘Tiny Todd’ – A compact Asiatic particularly useful for containers and smaller spaces.

2 For Partial Shade and Woodland Character: Martagon Lilies

If your garden offers light or dappled shade rather than an exposed sunny border, Martagon lilies deserve serious consideration.

Their tall stems carry numerous smaller, nodding flowers with strongly recurved tepals. Instead of creating the bold effect of an Oriental lily, Martagons weave naturally among shrubs, ferns, grasses, and woodland perennials.

They can take time to establish after planting or disturbance, so choosing a good permanent site matters.

3 Martagon Lilies to Compare on Gardenia

• Lilium ‘Manitoba Morning’ – About 3-4 ft. (90-120 cm) tall with pinkish-red recurved flowers. A particularly useful example for partial shade and light woodland conditions.
• Lilium ‘Fairy Morning’ – A graceful Martagon with numerous softly colored, spotted Turk’s-cap flowers.
• Lilium ‘Chameleon’ – A distinctive Martagon whose flowers change color as they age, adding extra interest to naturalistic planting.

3 For Fragrance and Spectacular Flowers: Oriental Lilies

If enormous flowers and perfume are the priorities, Oriental lilies are difficult to surpass. Their large flowers appear principally in white, pink, rose, crimson, and related shades and often carry powerful fragrance.

Orientals generally favor acidic conditions. In strongly alkaline gardens, growing them in containers with an appropriate potting medium may be easier than repeatedly trying to alter an entire bed.

3 Oriental Lilies to Compare on Gardenia

• Lilium ‘Casa Blanca’ – A classic white Oriental, about 3-4 ft. (90-120 cm) tall, with large, intensely fragrant flowers in mid to late summer.
• Lilium ‘Star Gazer’ – One of the most recognizable Orientals, with upward-facing crimson-pink flowers edged in white and a strong sweet fragrance.
• Lilium ‘Muscadet’ – Large white flowers flushed and spotted with pink, combining refined coloring with the fragrance expected from an Oriental lily.

For more cultivar-level options, see Gardenia’s Most Fragrant Lilies.

4 For Height and Midsummer Fragrance: Trumpet Lilies

Trumpet and Aurelian lilies are excellent choices where a border needs height, fragrance, and strong vertical structure. Their large waxy flowers may face outward, upward, or downward and are usually strongly scented.

They are particularly effective toward the middle or back of a border, where their flowers can rise above neighboring plants.

3 Trumpet and Aurelian Lilies to Compare on Gardenia

• Lilium ‘African Queen’ – A striking 4-6 ft. (120-180 cm) Trumpet lily with huge apricot-orange flowers and intense fragrance, blooming in mid to late summer.
• Lilium ‘Golden Splendor’ – Golden-yellow trumpets marked burgundy outside, strong fragrance, and a mature height around 3-4 ft. (90-120 cm).
• Lilium ‘Pink Perfection’ – A tall, award-winning Trumpet lily with huge purplish-pink flowers, strong fragrance, and stems reaching about 4-6 ft. (120-180 cm).

The species Lilium regale is also worth exploring if you love the classic trumpet-flowered look. Its intensely fragrant white flowers and 4-6 ft. stature make it one of the great traditional garden lilies.

5 For Architectural Drama and Later Flowers: Orienpet Lilies

Orienpet lilies, also called OT hybrids, combine Oriental and Trumpet ancestry. They are particularly useful when you want large flowers, strong stems, fragrance, and impressive height later in the lily season.

3 Orienpet Lilies to Compare on Gardenia

• Lilium ‘Anastasia’ – A towering Orienpet reaching about 4-7 ft. (120-210 cm), with large pink-and-white, strongly fragrant flowers in mid to late summer.
• Lilium ‘Scheherazade’ – A dramatic OT hybrid with rich crimson flowers edged in cream, carried on tall vigorous stems.
• Lilium ‘Conca d’Or’ – About 4-5 ft. (120-150 cm) tall, with huge creamy-white flowers glowing lemon-yellow through the centers and a light fruity fragrance.

What About LA Hybrids, Longiflorum, and Species Lilies?

These lilies deserve consideration even though they do not fit as neatly into the five garden situations above.

LA hybrids combine Longiflorum and Asiatic ancestry. They are excellent when you want large flowers, sturdy stems, and generally lighter fragrance than Oriental or Trumpet lilies. In Gardenia’s bloom data, all six LA hybrids in the current extract flower from early to midsummer, making the group particularly useful for bridging the earlier Asiatic season and the main midsummer lily display.

3 LA Hybrids to Compare on Gardenia

• Lilium ‘Brindisi’ – A romantic LA hybrid with soft pink, upward-facing flowers and a deeper pink throat. It grows about 3-4 ft. (90-120 cm), flowers in early to midsummer, and is well suited to borders, containers, and cutting gardens.
• Lilium ‘Arbatax’ – A statuesque LA hybrid with huge rose-pink flowers and a clean white throat. Reaching about 4-5 ft. (120-150 cm), it flowers in early to midsummer and works especially well where you want a taller pink lily for borders or cutting.
• Lilium ‘Beau Soleil’ – A bright golden-yellow LA hybrid with large, slightly fragrant flowers and a high bud count. It grows about 3-4 ft. (90-105 cm), blooms in early to midsummer, and performs well in borders, containers, and cutting gardens.

Longiflorum lilies are best known for elegant white trumpet flowers. Lilium longiflorum ‘White Heaven’ is an excellent example. Outdoor hardiness varies, so check the actual cultivar before treating Longiflorum lilies as permanent garden plants.

Species lilies require the most individual approach. Lilium leichtlinii, for example, grows about 3-4 ft. (90-120 cm) and flowers in early to midsummer, but other species may come from very different woodland, meadow, mountain, prairie, or wetland habitats.

The lesson is simple: choose a species because its ecology matches your site, not merely because it is wild.

Choose Lilies by Bloom Time

Bloom season can change a good lily collection into a garden that stays colorful for weeks. Rather than memorizing dates, think of the lily season as a progression from earlier groups to midsummer and later-flowering types.

Important: These are approximate flowering windows rather than fixed dates. Bloom time varies with cultivar, climate, latitude, elevation, exposure, and seasonal weather.

Asiatic, Martagon, and many LA lilies generally occupy the earlier portions of the lily season. Trumpet and Aurelian lilies create a strong midsummer bridge, while Oriental and Orienpet lilies extend the display later. Species lilies are the wildcard because their flowering periods vary enormously.

For more precise timing, use Gardenia’s When Do Lilies Bloom? Lily Bloom Calendar.

Bloom timing is not the same as bloom duration. Gardenia’s How Long Do Lilies Bloom? How to Extend the Lily Season explains how long individual flowers, stems, and cultivar displays last.

Choose Lilies for Containers and Cutting

Best Lilies for Pots

Compact Asiatics and Orientals are among the easiest lilies to grow in containers because their mature height remains manageable. LA hybrids also work well. Tall Trumpets and Orienpets can grow successfully in pots, but they need larger, stable containers and may require support.

Three contrasting choices are compact ‘Tiny Todd’, white Oriental ‘Casa Blanca’, and LA hybrid ‘Brindisi’.

For more choices and practical container guidance, see Gardenia’s Best Lilies for Pots and Containers.

Best Lilies for Cutting

For bouquets, look beyond color. Strong stems, flower orientation, bud production, fragrance, and mature height matter too. Asiatics provide bold color with little scent. LA hybrids offer sturdy stems and substantial flowers. Orientals bring large flowers and perfume, while Trumpets contribute dramatic form.

Three useful examples are ‘Dot Com’ for bold Asiatic color, ‘Brindisi’ for sturdy LA stems, and ‘Casa Blanca’ when large fragrant flowers are the priority.

When harvesting lilies from the garden, leave substantial green foliage on the plant so the bulb can replenish its reserves for future flowering.

Do Soil and Climate Change the Choice?

Absolutely. Group recommendations are useful shortcuts, but the site still wins.

• Alkaline soil: Martagons are particularly useful, while many Asiatics and Trumpets accommodate a broader pH range. Orientals generally favor acidic conditions.
• Cooler gardens: many Asiatics are dependable choices, and Martagons are particularly well suited to cool conditions.
• Hot summers: Orienpets are worth investigating for their vigor, but individual cultivar hardiness, moisture, drainage, and exposure still matter.
• Humid climates: allow adequate spacing and air circulation rather than burying lily stems inside dense foliage.

From Lily Group to Actual Cultivar

Choosing the group is only the first step. Two lilies in the same division can still differ in mature height, hardiness, exact flowering period, flower orientation, fragrance, and garden use.

Before You Buy Lily Bulbs

• Check the cultivar’s hardiness for your climate.
• Confirm mature height and spread.
• Check full sun or partial shade requirements.
• Confirm soil pH and drainage.
• Look at flowering season, not just flower color.
• Check fragrance if planting near seating, windows, or doors.
• Consider whether the flowers face upward, outward, or downward.
• For containers, make sure the mature height suits the pot and exposure to wind.

Once you have chosen the plants, use Gardenia’s Lily Planting Depth and Spacing Guide rather than applying one planting-depth formula to every lily. For watering, feeding, staking, post-bloom care, and long-term cultivation, continue with How to Grow and Care for Lilies.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Bottom Line: Choose the Lily That Fits the Garden

Lilies become much easier to choose once you match the plant to the job.

Choose Asiatics for an easy, colorful starting point. Choose Martagons for light woodland shade and graceful naturalistic planting. Choose Orientals when large flowers and intense perfume matter most. Choose Trumpets for height and midsummer fragrance, and Orienpets for vigorous architectural plants that carry the lily display later into summer.

Then move beyond the group label. Compare actual cultivars for hardiness, mature height, flower direction, flowering time, sunlight, soil pH, drainage, and fragrance.

The right lily is not simply the flower you like most. It is the lily whose beauty and growing requirements fit the garden you actually have.

References

• North American Lily Society – Types of Lilies – horticultural divisions and lily characteristics.
• Royal Horticultural Society – Lilies: How to Grow – selection, soil, light, containers, and cultivation.
• Gardenia – Types of Lilies: 9 Lilium Groups & Hybrids Explained – lily classification and ancestry.
• Gardenia – When Do Lilies Bloom? Lily Bloom Calendar – flowering sequence by lily type.
• Gardenia – Compare Lilium – cultivar-level comparison by garden characteristics.

Updated: August 2026 • Reviewed by Gardenia Editors