GW Calhoun Moon - Fall

The GW’s Calhoun Moon bloom begin in warm golden-yellow and honey tones, then move through peach, blush, salmon, and occasional raspberry as temperatures and growing conditions change. Some flowers lean distinctly golden, while others show a softer pink center or richer salmon shading. By late season, the same plant can look remarkably different from the one you were cutting in midsummer.

That shifting color makes GW’s Calhoun Moon especially fun in a working cutting field. Instead of giving us one rigid color, it seems to evolve along with the rest of the season.

The blooms are miniature formal decorative, generally around 3–3½ inches across, with beautifully organized petals and a full, rounded shape. They are small enough to tuck easily into mixed bouquets, yet the layered coloring gives them enough personality to stand out.

In our market bouquets, this is an incredibly useful flower. Early in the season, I can pair it with cream, blush, peach, and soft pink. As the coloring deepens, it starts working beautifully alongside rust, coral, raspberry, burgundy, and other late-summer tones.

For our local florists, GW’s Calhoun Moon offers something especially valuable: variation without chaos. The formal decorative shape stays neat and structured while the color changes from bloom to bloom. That gives designers a bucket with natural tonal variation instead of twenty flowers that look exactly alike.

It is also a variety I would happily use for weddings. The smaller bloom size is wonderful for bridal bouquets, bud vases, centerpieces, and more detailed floral work, while the peach-and-blush coloring fits easily into many of the romantic palettes we design with.

Another reason this variety deserves attention is its performance in heat. The Dahlia Society of Georgia includes GW’s Calhoun Moon on its heat-tolerant dahlia list, and growers in warmer climates also report substantial color shifts rather than a decline in usefulness as temperatures rise.

What I appreciate most about GW’s Calhoun Moon is that it offers both consistency and surprise. The plant gives us that beautifully structured little formal decorative bloom over and over again, but the color keeps changing enough to make each cutting feel different.

For the gardener who loves peach, gold, blush, and salmon tones—and appreciates a dahlia that evolves with the season—GW’s Calhoun Moon is a wonderful variety to grow.

Bloom Color: Golden Yellow / Peach / Salmon / Blush Flame Blend
Bloom Form: Miniature Formal Decorative
Bloom Size: Approximately 3–3½ inches
ADS Classification: 4010
Plant Height: Approximately 3–4 feet
Hybridizer: Gerald Wolfe
Origin: United States
Best For: Cutting gardens, market bouquets, florist work, weddings & exhibition