May Night is one of the most widely grown perennial salvias for good reason: it is dependable, easy and generous with dense spikes of deep violet-purple flowers. It begins blooming in early summer and keeps going into midsummer, especially if you remove the spent spikes.
It forms a neat clump of oblong, aromatic leaves about 18 inches tall. Use it in beds, borders and containers, and expect a steady stream of bees and butterflies while it blooms.
What it looks like
Dense, upright flower spikes 5 to 7 inches long crowded with small two-lipped florets in deep violet-purple, held in dark purple calyxes on purplish stems. Many spikes rise evenly above the leaves. Leaves are oblong to lance-shaped, 2 to 3 inches long, mid-green, crinkled and aromatic when crushed. The plant is a tidy clump about 18 inches tall and 15 to 18 inches wide. At peak it looks like a thick bouquet of dark violet candles.
Growing it with lavender
Salvia wants the same full sun and lean, well-drained soil as lavender, and its upright spikes echo lavender's form while filling the gap before and after the main lavender bloom.
Care
Plant in full sun in average, well-drained soil; it is drought tolerant once established. Hardy in zones 3-8; shear the plant back by about a third after the first flush fades to encourage fresh growth and another round of flowers.
At a glance
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Botanical name: Salvia × sylvestris
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Flower color: Deep violet-purple
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Foliage: Mid-green
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Growth habit: Upright, clump-forming
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Mature size: 18 in tall × 15–18 in wide
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USDA hardiness zones: 3–8
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Light: full sun
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Bloom start: Early-June
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Peak bloom: Late-June
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Bloom pattern: Repeat Blooming
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Deer resistance: Resistant
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Pollinator value: Excellent
Sizes and shipping
Dormant bare-root plant, sold in boxes of 25 per variety (order in multiples of 25). Bare-root plants ship or are picked up March 1–May 31 only. They are soil-free, so they may ship to every state in that window. Dormant plants often show little or no top growth on arrival; plant or heel them in promptly.