May Night Salvia
Salvia nemorosa ‘Mainacht’ · a violet-blue perennial salvia
An award-winning sage with dense spikes of deep violet-blue flowers from late spring into summer and aromatic leaves, a classic for borders and pots that butterflies and hummingbirds visit. Deer and rabbits leave it alone. Give it sun and good drainage, and cut it back after the first flush for more bloom.
- Mature size
- 1.5 × 1.5 ft
- 0.5 × 0.4 m, tall × wide
- Hardiness
- Zones 4a–8b
- USDA
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Dry to medium
- Blooms
- May–Jun
May Night Salvia at its mature size
A mature May Night Salvia grows 1.5 to 2 feet tall and 1 to 1.5 feet wide.
Drawn to scale beside a 5 ft 9 in person. With VeraScape, you see it at this size in your own yard.
Typical mature size, unpruned. Sources: Walters Gardens, NC State Extension.
Through the year
What May Night Salvia looks like month by month in a typical zone 6–7 garden.
Below ground · Dec–Mar
Dies back to the ground; draw nothing but keep it selectable.
In leaf · Apr, Jul–Nov
Low clump of gray-green leaves, a few spikes.
In flower · May–Jun
Dense upright spikes of deep violet flowers.
Photos
Growing May Night Salvia
- Grows well in
- The Northeast, the Southeast, the Midwest, the Plains and Mountain West, the Pacific Northwest, and California.
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Good for
- Drought tolerant, deer resistant, pollinators, fragrant, and fast growing
- Leaves
- Dies back in winter
- Native to
- Garden hybrid
Spacing
VeraScape spaces plants so their grown canopies just touch. For May Night Salvia, that’s about 1.5 ft apart, center to center.
Place a row in your own yard and VeraScape spaces them at their mature width, so you can see whether they’ll crowd the walk.
See May Night Salvia in your yard before you dig
Visualize it at its true size, alongside the rest of your design.
Other salvias and sages
May Night Salvia
Woodland Sage
Autumn Sage
Scarlet SageAll drawn to the same scale.