perennial
Meadow sage 'May Night'
Salvia nemorosa 'May Night'
Preview: plant data is awaiting horticulturist review. A professional horticulturist hasn't reviewed our plant table yet. Lists still follow fixed rules for zone, sun, pets, deer and invasive status.
Salvia nemorosa 'May Night' is a perennial for gardens in zones 4–8. Expect 1.5–2 ft of height and 1.5–2 ft of spread; our lists space it 1.5 ft apart. It does best in full sun to part sun with little water once established. Expect purple flowers in May to July. In a FloraVista list it usually plays the filler role: a flowering plant that fills the middle or front of the bed. Deer usually leave it alone, and it is not listed as toxic to dogs or cats. Our rules leave it out of lists in Florida and the Gulf, where summer heat, humidity or mild winters hold it back even inside its zone range.
Facts from our plant table
- Botanical name
- Salvia nemorosa 'May Night'
- Plant type
- Perennial, herbaceous
- Hardiness zones
- 4 to 8
- Sun
- Full sun (6+ hours); Part sun (4–6 hours)
- Water
- Low
- Soil
- Well-drained soil; tolerates clay if not waterlogged.
- Mature size
- 1.5–2 ft tall × 1.5–2 ft wide
- Spacing
- 1.5 ft apart (centre to centre)
- Growth rate
- Medium
- Bloom
- May–Jul · purple
- Roles in a bed
- Filler
- Styles
- modern, cottage, low water
- Deer resistance
- High: deer rarely eat it
- Pets
- Not listed as toxic to dogs or cats. Garden salvias are not on the ASPCA toxic list.
- Native to
- Not native to the US (or a garden hybrid)
- Pot size and price
- 1-gallon pot, typically $12–$20 (easy to find)
- Plant in
- Spring or Fall
- First-year watering
- Water weekly through the first summer until roots establish, then only during long dry spells.
- Pruning
- Cut spent spikes to the leaves after the first bloom to encourage rebloom; tidy in early spring.
Sources: ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant List (from general knowledge; not re-checked unless verification is web-checked); Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder and grower tags; State extension service guidance and USDA PLANTS distribution maps; Rutgers NJAES Landscape Plants Rated by Deer Resistance; Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States and state noxious weed lists; Typical 2026 US garden-centre and big-box retail listings (estimate). Not yet reviewed by a horticulturist.
Guides that include this plant
- Dog-safe plants for a full-sun bed in zone 4
- Dog-safe plants for a full-sun bed in zone 5
- Dog-safe plants for a full-sun bed in zone 6 (as a substitute)
- Dog-safe plants for a full-sun bed in zone 7
- Low-water plants for a full-sun bed in zone 5
- Low-water plants for a full-sun bed in zone 6 (as a substitute)
- What to plant in a full-sun bed in zone 7 (as a substitute)
- Modern planting for a sunny bed in zone 5
Good companions
The plants our list engine most often puts in the same bed as Meadow sage 'May Night', across the sun, zone, pet, deer and style combinations it fits.
- Shrubby cinquefoil (potentilla) 'Goldfinger'Dasiphora fruticosa 'Goldfinger'shrub · zones 2–7
- Blue fescue 'Elijah Blue'Festuca glauca 'Elijah Blue'ornamental grass · zones 4–8
- Lamb's ear 'Helen von Stein'Stachys byzantina 'Helen von Stein'perennial · zones 4–8
- Threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam'Coreopsis verticillata 'Moonbeam'perennial · zones 3–9
- Pink muhly grassMuhlenbergia capillarisornamental grass · zones 6–11
- Purple coneflowerEchinacea purpureaperennial · zones 3–8
If you can't find it
Substitutes our engine offers for Meadow sage 'May Night': same role in the bed, passing the same rules. Some of them are flagged toxic to dogs or cats: check the pet note before you swap.
- Threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam'Coreopsis verticillata 'Moonbeam'zones 3–9 · not flagged toxic to pets
- Catmint 'Walker's Low'Nepeta × faassenii 'Walker's Low'zones 3–8 · flagged toxic to pets
- Stonecrop 'Autumn Joy'Hylotelephium 'Herbstfreude'zones 3–9 · not flagged toxic to pets
- Foxglove beardtongue 'Husker Red'Penstemon digitalis 'Husker Red'zones 3–8 · not flagged toxic to pets
How this page was made
This page was generated from this plant's record in FloraVista's plant table by fixed rules. The companions and substitutes come from the lists our rules engine composes. No named expert has reviewed this page.
Data status: the plant table is awaiting review by a horticulturist. Check each plant with a local nursery or extension office before you buy.
Sources
- Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, state extension services and the USDA PLANTS database (zones, size, sun, water, bloom, native range)
- ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists (dog and cat toxicity)
- Rutgers NJAES and regional extension deer-resistance ratings
- State noxious-weed and invasive-plant lists and the Invasive Plant Atlas of the US
- Typical US garden-centre listings (pot size and price band)
Generated . How FloraVista chooses plants