Product Field NotesCompanion Plants
Midnight Model Salvia: Bold Violet-Blue Spires for Lavender Beds
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Midnight Model salvia is a perennial salvia that improves on older blue types in flower size and color. Upright, branched spikes carry large hooded florets, about three-quarters of an inch long, in rich violet blue set off by dark green calyxes and dark stems. The plant forms a round, dense clump about two feet tall, and at peak it looks like a rounded mass of bold violet-blue spires.
Midnight Model at a glance
| Trait | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Botanical name | Salvia 'Midnight Model' |
| Flowers | Large, violet-blue hooded florets on branched spikes |
| Foliage | Broad, crinkled, mid to dark green |
| Size | 22 to 24 inches tall, 20 to 22 inches wide |
| Bloom | Late May, peaks mid-June, repeat bloom after cutting back |
| Hardiness | USDA zones 3 to 8 |
| Light | Full sun |
| Wildlife | Excellent for bees and hummingbirds; deer and rabbits leave it alone |
Bridging the lavender season
Salvia and lavender are both mint-family plants that want full sun and well-drained soil, so they make easy bedfellows. Midnight Model's upright spikes echo lavender's shape, but its violet blue is cooler and bolder. It begins in late May, before most lavender, and its repeat bloom after cutting back fills in after the lavender harvest. In other words, it covers both ends of the lavender season.
At about two feet, it fits the middle of a sunny border. Use it in drifts between lavender groups or as a line behind a low lavender edging. Plan the arrangement in the Companion Plant Planner.
Planting and care
- Soil: average to fertile and well drained. Wet, heavy winter soil is the main cause of loss.
- Water: regularly the first season, then only in dry spells. It is very heat and drought tolerant once established.
- Cutting back: after the first flush, cut faded spikes back to the leafy base or shear the plant for repeat bloom.
- Airflow: in muggy, crowded plantings the leaves can get powdery mildew after the first flush. Cutting back and spacing help.
Containers and cottage gardens
Its round, dense habit makes Midnight Model a good choice for larger containers on a sunny patio, perhaps paired with a pot of lavender. In a cottage garden it adds a strong blue note among pinks and whites. Bees and hummingbirds visit often while it blooms.
Winter
It is vigorous and reliably hardy in Michigan in well-drained soil. Leave stems standing over winter or cut them back in fall, and clean up old growth in spring as new leaves appear.
Frequently asked questions
How is it different from May Night?
Both are violet perennial salvias. Midnight Model has notably larger flowers on a taller, rounder clump, while May Night is a shorter, long-standing classic with deeper violet-purple spikes.
Is it good for cut flowers?
Yes, it is rated good for cutting and fair for drying. The leaves have a mild sage-like scent when brushed; the flowers are unscented.
Plug tray or bare root?
The 72-cell plug tray suits growers and mass plantings; the bare root plant suits a home border. See each product page for current availability.
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