Sam McGredy (Part 2)

Over a career of 40 years, Sam McGredy introduced around 260 new rose varieties onto the market around the world. He had much success with many of them including winning awards at rose trials in many countries.

Sam bred roses of all types and colours but he was also an innovative breeder with ‘hand painted’ roses, striped roses and the ‘creepy crawlies’ among his creations. He did, however, breed roses for money and did pioneer the concept of naming a rose for a product or person for payment. His most successful rose in terms of returns was the red Hybrid Tea ‘Olympiad’ which was the official rose of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

The ‘hand painted’ roses are those where one colour is splashed with another. ‘Picasso’ was the first to be introduced in 1971 with other popular ones including ‘Matangi’, ‘Old Master’ and ‘Rock n Roll’. Although not the only rose breeder to created striped roses, Sam did have some luck when he got pollen from ‘Stars N Stripes’ (which was thought to be sterile) one year and created several varieties including ‘Hurdy Gurdy’, ‘Michelangelo’ and ‘Oranges N Lemons’.

The creepy crawlies included ‘Snow Carpet’ and its offspring ‘Angelita’ but difficulties with getting pollen to use meant that this line didn’t go far.

Sam bred a number of Hybrid Teas where his style towards the end of his career was to bred for blooms in large heads with each bloom having its own stem. Examples include ‘Aotearoa’, ‘Auckland Metro’ and ‘Lantern’. A large number of Hybrid Teas can also be traced back to an earlier Kordes variety ‘Freude’ which gave great vigour to its offspring. Among these are ‘Solitaire’, ‘Paddy Stephens’ and ‘Maggie Barry’.

In the floribundas, Sam’s most well know rose was ‘Sexy Rexy, not only for the name which was controversial at the time but for its sheer flower power and that it is a good parent for breeding.  Among the many roses from this line are ‘Speks Centennial’, ‘Jillian McGredy’ and ‘Rock N Roll’. Other well-known McGredy floribundas are ‘Trumpeter’, ‘Old Port’, ‘Liverpool Echo’, ‘Elizabeth of Glamis’ and Regensberg’.

In Northern Ireland, Sam bred a number of well-known climbing roses, the most well known of which are the ‘Bays’ series – ‘Dublin Bay’ is grown all over the world and ‘Bantry Bay’ is also well known with ‘Galway Bay’ also part of the series. Also well known is the bicolour ‘Handel’, still widely grown today. Sadly for whatever reason, Sam didn’t breed many climbers once he moved to New Zealand.

Sam also bred a number of miniature/patio varieties and many of these were named for places in New Zealand. ‘Kaikoura’ is the most well-known and grown of these, but others included ‘Takapuna’, Hauraki’, ‘Manapouri’ and ‘Wanaka’.  They were all compact growers with lots of flowers making them ideal for containers and smaller gardens.

Fragrance was also an important characteristic of Sams roses and we only have to think of the likes of ‘Aotearoa’, ‘Auckland Metro’, ‘Matawhero Magic’ ‘Superbowl’ and ‘Old Port’ when it comes to fragrant roses that Sam bred.

A large collection of Sam McGredy bred varieties can be found at ‘Cheops’ the garden of Gary and Georgina Campbell near Hastings which is open to groups by appointment.

McGredy leaves a legacy of so many beautiful rose varieties that will be grown by gardeners around the world for many years to come.

November is when many of the rose shows are on up and down the country including this year’s National Spring Rose Show in Hamilton.

In the rose garden for November:

• Roses will be coming into flower throughout the month so enjoy the spring blooms, especially those of any new varieties you have planted.
• Watch out for strong winds damaging new growth, especially basal shoots which appear from the base of the plant. Stake these or pinch the tips out
• Keep an eye out for pests and diseases and treat as appropriate.
• If you get a dry spell, water your roses to keep them going.
• Get along to your local rose show and visit your local public rose garden to see what is in flower.

By Hayden Foulds

Hayden also serves as Deputy Chairman of the World Federation of Rose Societies Rose Trials Committee amongst other rose endeavours. 

Read more from Hayden here.