I am interested in your replies too, I have the same problem. Tricia

I grow lots of Hidcoate - it loves my poor sandy soil in semi-arid East Anglia and is, imo, a fabulous. well-behaved, easy plant. Cuttings strike with ease, it is a deep, deep blue for weeks in summer and it stays wonderfully compact with a shearing after flowering. I did grow the salvia but found it bloomed for a very short time and never had the impact of the lavender - i have hedges and clumps all over my allotment. It loves the sun, the drought - oh, I cannot praise this lavandula enough - it will look terrific with the coreopsis, you could try C.verticillata 'Moonlight' too.

Hidcote is a great lavender that grows to around 18-14". In my zone 7b, Hidcote blooms around Memorial Day. I assume you'll be fine with the foliage after the blooms have faded (or been cut if you dry lavender).

An annual salvia that looks great with coreopsis, coneflowers and shasta is 'Victoria'. Upright, doesn't flop, gorgeous blue spikes and color. I know, it's not a perennial, but I like to use it in so many places.

Russian sage? I love it, but it's big unless you get the smaller cultivars (that I've not tried).

As an alternative, how about veronicas such as Royal Candles - 18" or Sunny Border Blue - 24" both very bright blue/purple or staying with a shorter Salvia, try Marcus.

I second "Royal Candles' veronica. I'm very impressed with how upright it stays compared to 'May Night.' And the flowers last a long time.

Let me put in a good word for May Night Salvia. How long have you had yours? Mine gave up flopping after it had matured for several years. Now it does not flop at all. It also blooms for a longer period each year it gets older. Mine is still in bloom here in mid-July--I've deadheaded several times and probably will this week also. It pumps out new blooms almost immediately.

But if you are truly not enamored of this salvia, you have plenty of excellent suggestions above for substitutions. I just felt the need to "defend" May Night. LOL

Kate

Thanks for all of the great information and suggestions! I love the look of the Vicoria salvia. I may have to give that a try! The Veronicas look great too!

Kate, I have had my May Night for about 5 years. Maybe they need to be divided? Perhaps I should plant them even closer together so they will give each other support. I do like the bloom, and I love that they keep coming back. I am just tired of seeing them laying all over the place especially in the front. I thought I might try dividing in the fall, but the book The Well-Tended Perennial garden by Tracy Disabato-Aust says not to divide these until spring. I thought all spring blooming plants were divided in the fall and fall bloomers in spring. Totally confused! Maybe some of you pros will chime in on this.

Thanks!
Melissa

Can't help you on the division problem. I've never divided mine.

A thought occurred to me. Are you sure you have May Night and not another salvia? I remember now that some years ago, I started out with a salvia that had some kind of German name, if I'm remembering correctly. It is readily available in many nurseries and catalogs. After a couple years, I tossed it--because it sprawled a lot. Then, after researching, I got May Night because it does not have the sprawling problem that the other had. And it has not sprawled all these years I've grown it.

I bet you actually have a different salvia. The general color and appearance of the two were very similar--just that difference in sprawling. Maybe try a May Night next spring and see if it performs better than the (fake?) one you have now.

Just a thought.

Kate

I agree with Kate on that real May Night does not have the falling and sprawling problem. I planted 6 Salvia last year, two of them from a nursery clearly labeled May Night-they have broader leaves and stronger stems and did not sprawl at all. They other 4 were purchased from Home Depot, their leaves are narrow and they do sprawl, particularly after rain. Their foliage is also getting slightly yellow after the blooming and less attractive. while the May Night stays as dark green the whole time after flowering. Both of them will repeat bloom if you cut the spent stalks.

They look almost identical as young plants but show differences after a couple weeks in my garden

You know, you may be right! I recently saw some May Night at a local nursery that had much bigger leaves than my May Night(Lowes). I didn't think much of it at the time. Maybe I need to purchase the other May Night and see what happens. Thank you for bringing that to my attention!

Melissa

I think my salvia is 'East Freisland' and it flops all over the freaking place. I've moved it around the yard and no matter where it is, it flops. I'm shovel pruning it.

I went to the nursery today where I remembered seeing the May Night with the larger leaves. They still had some! The leaves were not only bigger, but thicker with an almost leather like feeling to them. The flowers look similar to the May Night I currently have, but the stems were definately thicker, stronger, and longer. I bought three to replace the fake ones. I hope this will fix the problem. A big thank you to everyone who responded to this post, especially Kate and Vivian for bringing up the fake(mislabled) issue.

I hope Tricia has been following this. Maybe she has the same mislabled plants that I have.

Melissa