Sam McGredy refers to four generations of

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

rose hybridizers. Sam McGredy I founded the family nursery in 1880. Sam McGredy II focused the nursery on roses in 1895. Sam McGredy III took over in 1926, and was the first to name roses after family members. Sam McGredy IV moved operations to

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in 1974 after a close friend was murdered by Loyalist paramilitaries during

The Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

, and focused on Floribundas, Hybrid Teas and Grandifloras, including 'Paddy Stephens', 'New Zealand', and 'Kathryn McGredy'; and the hand-painted roses such as 'Regensberg'.

Samuel McGredy I

Sam McGredy I (1828–1903) founded the family nursery, Samuel McGredy & Son, Nurserymen, in 1880, in

Portadown Portadown () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of a ...

, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. He left a position as head gardener on an estate at the age of 50 to build the nursery business with his son, Sam McGredy II, who was a teenager at the time. The nursery initially specialized in fruit trees and show pansies, and benefited from excellent soil and easy rail transport to both Dublin and Belfast.

Samuel McGredy II

Samuel McGredy II (1861–1926) turned the family nursery towards roses, which promised to be more profitable than pansies, and began hybridizing his own roses. He showed his roses in the National Rose Society show in London for the first time in 1905, and won the Gold Medal for 'Countess of Gosford'. Similarly to the British rose hybridizer Henry Bennett, McGredy II grew his parent plants in pots in heated greenhouses to give a longer season for seed ripening. He produced many Gold Medal winners and was dubbed 'The Irish Wizard' by other rosarians.

Samuel McGredy III

Samuel Davison McGredy III (1897–1934) took over the family nursery and rose hybridizing business on his father's death, and greatly expanded production of roses. He was the first in the family to name roses after family members, with 'Margaret McGredy', named after his mother. 'Margaret McGredy' was later used as one of the ancestors of the famous hybrid tea, 'Peace'. 'Mrs. Sam McGredy', named for his wife, was introduced in 1929, and was very popular. Along with roses, McGredy III also bred

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parakeet A parakeet is any one of many small to medium-sized species of parrot, in multiple Genus, genera, that generally has long tail feathers. Etymology and naming The name ''parakeet'' is derived from the French wor''perroquet'' which is reflec ...

s, and

budgerigar The budgerigar ( ; ''Melopsittacus undulatus''), also known as the common parakeet or shell parakeet, is a small, long-tailed, seed-eating parrot usually nicknamed the budgie ( ), or in American English, the parakeet. Budgies are the only spe ...

s. McGredy III died suddenly of a heart attack in November 1934, at the age of 38.

Samuel McGredy IV

Samuel Darragh McGredy (1932 – 25 August 2019) was only 2 years old when his father McGredy III died. A board of trustees including his uncle Walter and mother Ruth took over management of the rose breeding and nursery until McGredy IV was of age. Meanwhile, as was the usual practice at the time, young McGredy IV was sent away to boarding school at the age of 7. He attended

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in Pennsylvania USA in 1948, then Greenmount Agricultural College in 1949. From there he moved on to

Reading University The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

. After leaving Reading he worked at a rhododendron nursery to further expertise in hybridisation, then reported for duty at the family nursery in Portadown in 1952, at which time he was handed the keys and began the modern phase of the rose-breeding industry. McGredy IV modernised operations and transformed style. He was famously adept at dictating innovation and fashion, along with plant health and strength. He introduced his first hybrid of his own, 'Salute', a cherry-red and yellow bicolor floribunda, in 1958. His first Gold Medal winner, 'Orangeade', a floribunda, was introduced the next year, in 1959. Sam McGredy IV married fashion model Maureen McCall in 1960. They had three daughters, Kathryn McGredy (1961), Maria Winder (1964), and Clodagh Leigh (1974). In 1972 McGredy IV and family emigrated to

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, New Zealand. The move allowed him to breed roses without the need for greenhouses, and to better select roses that would do well in the USA, his major market. Sam and Maureen divorced in 1978, and Sam later married Jillian Hawcridge. In the 1994 Queen's Birthday Honours, Sam McGredy IV was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for services to horticulture. When he retired, he closed the nursery. He died on 25 August 2019.

Roses of Sam McGredy IV

In 1962 he introduced a rose named after the younger of his two sisters, 'Paddy McGredy', a rose-red rose that bloomed in bunches on long stems. In that same time period,

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, Royal Patron of the

Royal National Rose Society The Royal National Rose Society (RNRS) (1876-2017) was a specialist horticultural organization in the United Kingdom dedicated to the cultivation and appreciation of roses. Founded in 1876 as the "National Rose Society", it was the world's olde ...

, gave McGredy IV permission to name a rose after her with the name 'Elizabeth of Glamis' – a great honor. This rose was introduced in 1963, a light salmon floribunda. McGredy IV's hand-painted rose series started in 1971, with the introduction of 'Picasso', a patterned red and white rose.

Plant Breeders' Rights

Sam McGredy IV campaigned for passage of a Plant Breeders' Rights act in the UK, starting in 1955. At the time, anyone could propagate a new rose and sell it with no payment to the hybridizer. Rose hybridizers only made money on their creations for the year or two that they had a head start on their competitors. Most rose hybridizers owned a nursery for the propagation and sale of plants, which supported their hybridizing. The Plant Breeders' Rights Act was passed in 1964. Sam McGredy IV secured rights to his climbing rose 'Handel'. Another first, and again at Sam’s instigation, the New Zealand Plant Varieties Act was passed in parliament in 1973. The first New Zealand Plant Varieties Right was granted to Sam McGredy Roses International for 'Matangi', a floribunda, in 1976.

Selected roses

* 'Picadilly' Hybrid Tea, 1959 * 'Handel', Floribunda, 1960 * 'Arthur Bell', 1964 * 'Irish Beauty' Floribunda, 1964 * 'Violet Carson', 1964 * 'Electron' Hybrid Tea, 1970 * 'Liverpool Echo' Floribunda, 1971 * 'Old Master' Floribunda, 1974 * 'Typhoo Tea' Hybrid Tea, 1974 * 'Dublin Bay' Climber, 1975 * 'Captain Cook' Floribunda, 1977 * 'Trumpeter' Floribunda, 1977 * 'Regensberg' Floribunda, 1979 *

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Hybrid Tea, 1982 * 'Today' Hybrid Tea, 1982 * 'Sexy Rexy' Floribunda, 1984 * 'Waiheke' Grandiflora, 1986 * 'Aotearoa' Hybrid Tea, 1989 * 'Spiced Coffee' Hybrid Tea, 1990 * 'Maggie Barry' Hybrid Tea, 1993 * 'Oranges 'n' Lemons' Floribunda, 1994 * 'Spek's Centennial'' Floribunda, 1994 * 'Octoberfest' Grandiflora, ~1998 * 'Cologne' Grandiflora, 1998 * 'Reba McEntire' Grandiflora, 1998

Notes

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McGredy, Sam Rose breeders People from Portadown People from Auckland Horticultural companies of the United Kingdom