Today's Salvias of the Day is Sage (Salvia nemorosa 'Mainacht').

This plant can be found in the ATP Plant Database at:
Sage (Salvia nemorosa 'Mainacht') .

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Sage (Salvia nemorosa 'Mainacht')

My 'Mainacht' performed super well the first year, but then my phlox 'David' grew taller and began blocking its sun, and has not performed as well the last 2 seasons. I'm thinking I need to relocate it to a new spot! But it was gorgeous that first year--and a total pollinator magnet!

My 'Mainacht' did well early in the season, but I think it got too much shade and didn't do as well. I gotta make sure 'Mainacht' get full sun.

I grew it in a 20 inch container with a couple of other perennials. Think I need to get a another plant next spring.

Beautiful flowers and is a bee magnet!

Mine has done well for the 2 or 3 years that I've had it.

Karen

Mine succumbed to drought last year and I forgot to remove it from the list. Or I was in denial, maybe...

Debra



You can always get a fresh, new plant in the spring.

True.

Mainacht is a very attractive and long/ repeat blooming plant. It definitely needs full sun here and will flop if it's in anything less, or if it is not divided often enough. Sometimes the foliage looks a little ratty as the summer passes. But all in all, a plant worth having and definitely a pollinator magnet.

I just love purple and orange
I have several clumps of Mainacht--never had any trouble with flopping, although I have squished a few by overcrowding with more aggressive and bigger plants. I don't really call that flopping when a plant has to grow under another one and over and out to find the sun. I guess I think of flopping as something that was tight and upright suddenly splaying and falling over all on its own accord like a peony or something but maybe I don't know what flopping is?


These are a couple of 5 (on the left) and 3 (on the right) year-in-this-spot clumps this past spring--both are really quite massive. I used to have them along the sidewalk but they got too big so I moved them into this garden. They are about 30 in tall and about 40+ in wide.
I do typically cut them back after the spring peak, but they are still blooming and branching and budding and because I like to keep the bees fed
I am not very drastic with cutting and I let them get pretty ratty looking.
This year I cut one (that I have in a different garden) back to the ground after the spring bloom because it was crowding something else--I was amazed at how well it grew back and how nice it looked in August and September
I may have to try some more drastic pruning next year.

All in all, these are very resilient plants in my area and I find them to be full sun appreciative, quite drought tolerant, care-free bee feeders

@dirtdorphins

Thanks for sharing your informative comments. Beautiful pics.

Dirt, that is a gorgeous stand of salvia! Love the bee photos.

Dirt, that is how I would define flopping, too.

Bee-yoo-tee-ful pictures, Dirt!
Definition of "flopping" as I used it in my post...Mainacht was planted in my corner rock garden in a flat spot at the intersection of the sidewalks along with some daylilies. As this summer progressed, and it got bigger and taller and bloomier, part of it just laid down on the sidewalk. Maybe it was because we had ideal rainfall this year, and salvia prefers drier conditions. Anyway, I had to keep cutting flowering stalks back so that people weren't stepping on them. I decided to move Mainacht to another spot and try Caradonna on the corner, as it is advertised to be starkly upright. We'll see if that is true. If it flops too, I will try Marcus which is shorter. I really liked the look of Mainacht in that spot and want something very similar there.

I have several of this species, it blooms really good on the first flush and it last a long time. after I prune it back it does bloom again and even a 3rd time but both are not as good as the first bloom of the season. it gets to about 24 to 28 inches high and around 2 to 2.5 feet around the circumference at maturity. overall it is a nice addition to the garden and I will always have some in my cottage gardens.