Sam McGredy

Sam McGredy IV moved operations to New Zealand in 1974 after a close friend was murdered by Loyalist paramilitaries during The Troubles,[1] and focused on Floribundas, Hybrid Teas and Grandifloras, including 'Paddy Stephens', 'New Zealand', and 'Kathryn McGredy'; and the hand-painted roses such as 'Regensberg'.

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.

[3] 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.

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.

[3] In the 1994 Queen's Birthday Honours, Sam McGredy IV was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, for services to horticulture.

In that same time period, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Royal Patron of the Royal National Rose Society, gave McGredy IV permission to name a rose after her with the name 'Elizabeth of Glamis' – a great honor.

[3] Sam McGredy IV campaigned for passage of a Plant Breeders' Rights act in the UK, starting in 1955.

The first New Zealand Plant Varieties Right was granted to Sam McGredy Roses International for 'Matangi', a floribunda, in 1976.