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'MACauck' rose Description
'Olympiad ™ (hybrid tea, McGredy 1972)' rose photo
Photo courtesy of Jean Marion
Availability:
Commercially available
Synonyms:
• Olympiad ™
• Olympiode
HMF Ratings:
82 favorite votes.  
Average rating: EXCELLENT-.  
ARS:
Medium red Hybrid Tea.
Registration name: MACauck
Exhibition name: Olympiad ™ (hybrid tea, McGredy 1972)
Origin:
Bred by Samuel Darragh (1932-2019) McGredy IV (1972).
Introduced in New Zealand by McGredy Roses International (New Zealand) in 1974 as 'Olympiad'.
Class:
Florists Rose, Hybrid Tea.  
Bloom:
Red.  Mild, tea fragrance.  32 to 37 petals.  Average diameter 5".  Medium to large, full (26-40 petals), borne mostly solitary, high-centered bloom form.  Blooms in flushes throughout the season.  
Habit:
Medium, bushy, upright.  Large, matte, medium green foliage.  

Height: 3' to 5' (90 to 150cm).  Width: 2' (60cm).
Growing:
USDA zone 5b and warmer.  Can be used for cut flower or exhibition.  Hardy.  vigorous.  heat tolerant.  Disease susceptibility: very disease resistant.  Spring Pruning: Remove old canes and dead or diseased wood and cut back canes that cross. In warmer climates, cut back the remaining canes by about one-third. In colder areas, you'll probably find you'll have to prune a little more than that.  Requires spring freeze protection (see glossary - Spring freeze protection) .  Can be grown in the ground or in a container (container requires winter protection).  
Breeder's notes:
Olympiad - Macauck. Nicknamed Auckland. For the 1974 Los Angeles Olympics.
Patents:
New Zealand - Patent No: 214  on  28 May 1984
Application No: ROS153  on  9 Mar 1983
Trade Name: Olympiad. PVR Terminated: May 28, 1998.
 
United States - Patent No: PP 5,519  on  23 Jul 1985   VIEW USPTO PATENT
Application No: 06/556,544  on  30 Nov 1983
Inventor: Samuel McGredy, IV (Auckland, NZ). Assignee: Armstrong Nurseries, Inc. (Ontario, CA). A new hybrid red tea rose for cut flowers and garden decoration, having as it seed parent 'Red Planet' and as its pollen parent 'Pharoah', Plant Pat. No. 2825... produces nearly continual, abundant, brilliant and lasting long-stemmed red flowers with a heavy petal substance lending to their longer-than-average longevity, both in the garden and in the vase... usually bears its flowers singly, sometimes 3 to 4 flowers per stem in irregular clusters, on strong stems that are long for the class...
Ploidy:
Tetraploid
Parentage:
Red Planet × Pharaoh (hybrid tea, Meilland, 1967)
Notes:
The large red rose of the 1984 Olympics.

See COMMENTS about cold hardiness.