Lee's Mauva Guava - Fall

Lee’s Mauva Guava is one of those dahlias whose name actually does a pretty good job describing the color. The blooms sit somewhere between juicy guava pink and soft mauve, with enough warmth to keep them from feeling lavender and enough depth to make them far more interesting than an ordinary pink.

The color can deepen toward the center of the bloom, giving each flower a softly shaded appearance rather than one flat tone. In the field, that subtle variation is especially beautiful in early morning or evening light, when the mauve and raspberry undertones seem to become more noticeable.

Its formal decorative blooms are around 4 inches across, with neatly layered petals and a beautifully finished center. That size is one of the reasons I find varieties like this so useful in a cutting garden. Lee’s Mauva Guava has enough substance to stand on its own, but it is not so large that it becomes difficult to work into bouquets.

In our market bouquets, this color is incredibly versatile. I can use it with blush, cream, dusty rose, peach, raspberry, burgundy, plum, and even some of the warmer sunset tones. It is particularly good at bridging pink and purple families when I want a bouquet to feel layered rather than perfectly color matched.

For our local florists, Lee’s Mauva Guava brings together several of the traits that matter most: strong stems, productive plants, useful bloom size, and a color that is genuinely easy to design with. Growers consistently report long stems and strong production, which gives this variety much more value than simply looking pretty in the field.

It is also exceptionally well suited to wedding work. The mauve-guava coloring feels romantic without being overly pastel, so it can move comfortably between a soft blush wedding and a deeper burgundy-and-mauve palette. I especially like flowers like this for bridal bouquets because the coloring gives you depth without needing to introduce a drastically darker bloom.

One other trait worth mentioning is the plant itself. Lee’s Mauva Guava grows into a bushy, productive plant around 4 feet tall, and several growers report that it produces good tuber clumps as well. That combination of flower quality and plant performance is always appealing when I am deciding which varieties deserve another season in the field.

What I appreciate most about Lee’s Mauva Guava is how balanced it is. There is plenty of personality in the color, but the bloom remains refined. The plants work hard, the stems are useful, and the flowers transition beautifully between market bouquets, florist buckets, and weddings.

For the gardener who loves moody pinks, mauve undertones, beautifully structured flowers, and dahlias bred with cutting in mind, Lee’s Mauva Guava is an excellent variety to grow.

Bloom Color: Guava Pink / Mauve / Warm Dusty Pink
Bloom Form: Formal Decorative
Bloom Size: Approximately 4 inches
ADS Classification: No verified ADS classification found
Plant Height: Approximately 4 feet
Hybridizer: Lee Hemmings Carlton
Introduced: 2023
Best For: Cutting gardens, market bouquets, florist work, weddings & collectors