I'd recommend changing your thinking from monster, big pots, to merely normally big pots. Daylilies will do fine in 2 gals, you'll just need more of them. They'll do fine in 1 gals, but you'll need more more. The difference is that normal plants come in the 1 and 2 gallons, so people like me accumulate a stash of them, and normal people leave them at recycling. Three and 5 gallons are tree pots, basically, and unless you can find a landscaper who is willing to part, are going to be hard to find for free. I have two in my stash, and you can't have them.

I have about 15 3-gallon black plastic plant containers. If any one wants them, let me know. they are good to split up plants, and transplant/move plants.

Since you're Zone 11 the trick to a smaller container is that with smaller soil volumes and container diameter you have to keep the soil from getting too hot, so I'd try to shelter the base/container from getting too much direct sun.

When I lived in NJ, my neighbors built a large vegetable garden. About 20' on a side. They were both from Wisconsin and had never grown anything before. They planted 24 cucumber plants, because that's how many were in a flat at the nearby nursery. While I never counted the yield, they kept filling up a large garbage can with cucumbers well after the first frost. Three plants should give you dozens of cucumbers, probably more than you need, but if you only plant one and it dies, you have to start all over.