Salvia 'Caradonna' is noted for its extremely long bloom season. If regularly deadheaded, it will be in nearly constant bloom from June to September in my area.

Gottagarden, I've never cut them back hard...just trimmed. I'll give that a try this year...thanks.

Gardengal, I'll check out the Caradonna. Love the thought of a longer blooming season.
Thanks much.

May Night: cut the spent blooms being very careful not to cut off the lateral blooms at the base of the old bloom. When no more laterals appear, cut the whole plant back for more blooms in the fall. This is extremely tedious but keeps the plants flowering for a long time.

My favorite long season bloomers shastas and gaillardia are short lived.

Thank you all for the advice to more drastically sheer the May Nights for the sake of continued bloom. I'm a Salviaholic and not seeking rehabilitation either! :) So any help w/increasing the bloom of any of my salvias is appreciated.

In the salvia-vein, I wanted to mention Salvia farinacea as a long-bloomer from early summer right on through a frost or two. Although an annual in many parts of the country, because of the spate of mild winters I've had here in N.J., it's graduated to perennial status in my garden w/clumps regenerating each season. Not as dark or brilliant a purple-blue as the May Nights, they still project a strong upright clump of delft blue spires if they're planted cheek to jowl in groups of 5 or 7.

Linda

I admit to being a bit confused...is it better to cut it way back or just the spent blooms (hasn't worked that well for me)?

Bean C - I love Shastas, too...but, Gaillardias just disappeared from my garden after one winter! And, the rabbits do enjoy eating the tops off some plants!

Linda - If the Salvia Farinacea is an annual, do you still snip the spent blooms? Love the May Nights, but wish they lasted longer.

janicej11....Only have 8 minutes left on my laptop battery so got to get this out quick! :) Yes I snip the nearly spent spikes on my salvia farinacea for two reasons. To promote further branching and more blooms and secondly I use those nearly spent spikes to hang and dry for arrangements later on.

They are a real work horse, really requiring no care other than that minimal snipping and are really drought resistent for me. No pests to speak of. They are a one-size-fits all plant in my garden, and the more like that I can encourage...the better I like it! :)

Linda ooops....I'm drained! :(

I went to a garden design seminar a few summers ago and the woman in charge said that May Nights would bloom May-Sept. and never need to be dead-headed or trimmed at all. Therefore I have never trimmed mine and they are always very short-lived (couple weeks in May only). I see them around shopping malls and they seem to be blooming all summer long. I would hate to shear them and have a bald spot in my garden. Maybe I will try to cut back a couple of them and see what happens. Any more suggestions?

Anyone have experience with East Friesland Salvia?

Selling garden design (to promote the sale of perennials) and lacking knowledge about the maintenance of the perennials themselves: seen that one before!

I tend to use the cultivars of Salvia nemorosa which are currently most available here (viz currently, 'Marcus' and 'Caradonna'). Have used East Friesland over a dozen or so years. Found it to be an excellent cultivar; particularly liked the violet-blue flower colour. Dwarf Marcus arose as a mutation of East Friesland.

Find Salvia nemorosa can be very long lived, though longevity is obviously a function of growing conditions as well as genetics. I do agree with the praise for 'Caradonna'. It's both attractive and doesn't seem to need to be in the most obvious sunny locations.

Unequivocally, you have to dead-head Salvia nemorosa (May Night included) for on-going flowering. However, bean_counter makes the very relevant point that the deadheading has to be done correctly.

Just saw 'Ostfriesland' (East Friesland) for sale here (President's Choice); first time in about ten years.

It was in a section labelled "Easy Perennials". The plant label said "Partial Shade"! Guess it's easier to make a sale with "Partial Shade" than with "Full Sun".

I love my May Nights..all but the smell...

I have a group of 5 that put on quite the show. I do cut them back, but the second bloom is quite wimpy.

This thread was resurrected from quite some time ago lol. I love my May Night, but wow it has sort of taken over my front bed. It's definitely the focal point atm... bigger than the dwarf burfords I planted this week behind it.

GardenHo, I have several Dianthus also and really enjoy them. Yours look great with the purple geranium. I have not seen that color. I had the pinkish bloody cranesbill geraniums, but the rabbits ate them down and they never came back.

ked that Salvia is lovely!

I have most of the salvias mentioned here: More May Night than anything else, because it has the longest bloom. Marcus and East Friesland can't compare. I also like the intense color of May Night. I deadhead like bean_counter_z4 does, though I've never done the really hard cut back at the end. Deadheading all the exact same way, I can say for sure that you get more bloom from May Night. I have Caradonna too but have not been too impressed with it's bloom. But I like the height and it's shape, so I keep it.

Interesting to read linnea's evaluation of Salvia nemorosa cultivars.

I also have used those cultivars extensively, but don't agree as to which is the best, or at least which has been (performed) best for me.

I have found May Night big and bushy.

If it is true that May Night has the longest bloom time, that doesn't increase it's appeal to me. I want a mixed perennial bed to change colour (and overall height) through the growing season. There's a lot of different perennials to perform and some are more spectacular (I'd say) than Salvia nemorosa.

I do agree about Caradonna's bloom and height. So far, I find it a bit narrow for it's height, but on the other hand, it then doesn't take up so much lateral space in (fits better into) a bed of closely spaced mixed perennials. As previously said, Caradonna seems to survive with a fair bit of shading.

Personally I prefer the colour of Marcus and East Friesland, but I'm sure it's all a matter of personal taste (and perception - latter re documented variability in the perception of purple and blue).

May Night has never been too big for me, but then I have it
planted in a couple of difficult areas with unamended soil and inconsistent
water. If it was in my more moist and lush main bed, maybe it would be another story.
I like the compact form of Marcus a lot; just wish it would bloom more. Luckily,
it looks neat and attractive when not blooming, because that’s what I have to
look at most of the time.

I really agree that the growing conditions are always something to consider.

Seem to remember a saying something like: Plants don't just die. Gardeners kill them.

I grow May Night, East Friesland, Caradonna, Blue and Rose Queen, Blue Hill, and Snow Mound. I definitely cut all but the Caradonna down to 2" to get a second flush of blooms. I like the dark steams of the Caradonna so much, that I leave them. That also allows them to reseed, which is what I want.

I use these salvias and catmints to fill spaces in my gardens while other perennials get established and fill out. Once the others are going strong, I move the "fluffy fillers" somewhere else. My beds are VERY big and this is a cheap way to fill space, especially if you dig and divide them every spring.

I have Caradonna and Marcus which put on a good summer time show of deep blues. But for long lasting flowering, the s. greggiis are a much more reliable perennial. I know these aren't hardy for cooler zones, but here in the Southwest they flower early and often until the hot weather starts, around mid-June. Then when it cools down again around September, they flower again. They don't come in the same colors as the s. nemerosas or farinaceas, no deep blues, but there are splashy reds, pinks, light purples.

Cheryl

SunnyBorders, when you say Dwarf Marcus arose as a mutation of East Friesland, do you mean from reseeding itself?

From the patent, Lynnet.

"Variety of salvia plant named 'Haeumenarc' US PP13322 P2".

Confusingly, 'Marcus' seems to be subsequently treated as an alternative cultivar name for 'Haeumenarc'.

"The new variety was discovered as a naturally occurring mutation of 'Ostfriesland' (East Friesland) (unpatented) in a bed of sage plants in Stuttgart, Germany in the summer of 1998."

A confusion here: 'Ostfriesland' itself is said to be sterile.

Does that mean that 'Marcus' appeared as a branch mutation? I'm not thinking so.

Also in the patent literature: "The new variety was first asexually reproduced in 1999 by cuttings in Stuttgart, Germany.

Another confusion is that the garden Salvia cultivars (often assigned to Salvia nemorosa) are rather interspecific hybrids or interspecific-hybrid hybrids.