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New England Gardening

Nepeta and May Night Salvia the same color? What?!

deanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5b

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

I have some existing Nepeta (unknown variety) and just-purchased May Night Salvia in pots. I had hoped the May Night would be darker than the Nepeta, but even my kids thought they were the same plant. Extremely similar in color. Is that your experience with May Night? I don't know if I have a lighter-than-normal May Night or if I have a Nepeta variety that happens to be darker. The May Night is supposed to be noticeably darker than Nepeta.

And, while I'm at it, I'm convinced, or at least almost convinced, that even though plants are propagated by cuttings, I'm not always getting what the actual original plant was supposed to be. It just seems like as time marches on there are slight variations in colors, and when you take a cutting, that further propagates that slight variation. Does anybody feel the same or differently?

Anyway, can anybody tell that there is a pot of May Night in front of that Nepeta? (There is a tomato in a terra cotta pot in the background, so ignore that.)

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Comments (3)

NHBabs z4b-5a NH
6 years ago
If you don't like the combo, can you return the Salvia? I find that Salvia Caradonna is quite dark and over the season is more attractive than May Night in my garden.
deanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5b
Original Author
6 years ago
I don't think I can return them. I was considering leaving a hole in the garden this year and planting Caradonna next year, which can be grown from seed, too. I have other uses for the May Night. I am just flummoxed as to why all the pictures on the net have May Night being so much darker, and Nepeta being so much bluer. I might have Walker's Low, which is supposed to have darker flowers than other Repeats. but, I think the main problem might be the May Night. It's just not nearly as dark as others, it seems.
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May Night is such a good grower that I keep buying them. Late in the season I am always finding quarts on sale. I see if offered everywhere here, so it is easy to find. May Night is quite a deep intense color. It is so deep it does not project far. It's best to flank it with contrasting colors. If it's against solid green you will not see it as well. If I stay on top of deadheading they just keep on going. I find them pretty neat in habit. I have EAst Friesland and a few others and they don't bloom nearly as much. I have Salvia White Hill and that is pretty nice. I have had my eye on Blue Hill for the color and want that too, but have not seen it offered locally.
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Did you say that you removed the plant, removed the bad soil and replanted it in good soil last year? If you did, your May Night should be up and blooming. Mine just opened it's first flowers yesterday. May Night is a wonderful plant and bloomer. I dead-headed mine every once in a while, just cutting off the dead flowerw and not shearing down the whole plant. I had constant flowers from May to frost (October). You may want to buy another and either pot your old one in some great soil and "doctor" it until it's healthy again. Then you will have 2! Good luck, Linda
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I snip off all the spent spikes in the beginning of the season, but it gets tedious. Maybe I should just cut "way" back next season. It doesn't bloom much after the snipping...just a few flowers here and there. I've heard it blooms til frost, but it just mildews for me. It's living in a good half day sun (morning and then some afternoon). What am I doing wrong? Mindy - I've not had slugs that I can see on mine. What other plants do you have surrounding the May Nights?
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I had a feeling that nothing would out-bloom May Night! I bought 2 or 3 Marcus: I need an edger for a dry area (a place where the hose doesnÂt reach, and IÂve been stumped at what to put there). But IÂm glad they didnÂt cost a lot since it looks like they may not do much. I may go back for more Caradonna now that I know they get tall: IÂm thinking of putting them behind a row of orange wild daylilies that run along the side of my house. ThatÂs in addition to the place I actually picked it out for. Sounds like Caradonna will go well with the orange. The daylilies have been there for years, IÂd like to spark it up a bit. Being more stoloniferous I know they will probably grow in after a while but IÂm not going to be too fussy about that. I looked up some of those other salvias, salvia greggii, salvia guarantica 'black & blue' and salvia ulignosa: they are not hardy in my zone, which explains why I had not heard of them before now. Darn!
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spedigrees z4VT
6 years ago
To my eye, the May Night blooms look a bit darker than those belonging to the plants already in the garden, but it could just be the light.

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