Oftentimes well-meaning hybridizers neglect fragrance, instead favoring a particular color or over-sized blooms. Hemerocallis dumortieri is a species daylily, which means the plant you see growing in the garden is exactly as you would find it growing in fields of wildflowers in Manchuria, eastern Russia, Korea, and Japan. The golden yellow-orange flowers have a scent to match their color; the fragrance is a heavenly combination of orange blossoms and honeysuckle.

H. dumortieri  is one of the earliest daylilies to flower, beginning to bloom in May in eastern Massachusetts.  The plants are compact, with narrow, arching leaves and the copper-hued buds open to warm marigold-yellow, star-shaped flowers; the backs of the tepals are washed with reddish brown striations.