PHILATELIE™ – red-white hybrid tea rose - McGredy
Bring a touch of storybook romance to your garden with PHILATELIE™, a hybrid tea whose striking raspberry-red and snow-white striped blooms instantly create a focal point beside a terrace, path or cottage-style arbour. Bred for reliable structure with an upright habit around chest height, it slips easily into family borders and classic rose beds, even where space is at a premium. As an own-root rose it builds strength gradually, rewarding simple care with dependable regrowth and impressive longevity, and the natural arc from careful establishment to confident flowering and finally full border presence unfolds steadily over the first three years. In typical British conditions it copes well with blustery, damp spells near the coast, provided you give it reasonable drainage and avoid waterlogging. Ideal if you enjoy cutting beautifully patterned stems for indoor arrangements, its high-centred, exhibition-style flowers bring classic hybrid tea elegance to vases while the plant itself anchors a “girly”, cottage border of roses, herbs and perennials. Medium maintenance means occasional checks for pests and rust, but its good resilience to black spot and powdery mildew keeps the routine manageable for busy gardeners who still want reliable, remontant colour from summer into autumn. Choose PHILATELIE™ if you like your afternoon tea corner framed by something a little dramatic, yet reassuringly easy to look after year after year.
Usage options
| Target area |
Reasoning |
| Feature rose near seating or terrace |
Use PHILATELIE™ as a single specimen by a bench or patio table to showcase its dramatic raspberry-red and white marbled blooms at eye level, adding a romantic focal point to afternoon tea corners for lovers of classic hybrid teas |
| Mixed cottage-style border |
Its upright, 110–150 cm growth slots neatly into mixed borders with perennials and herbs, giving strong vertical structure and repeat colour without dominating the whole bed, ideal for family gardens wanting easy structure |
| Traditional rose bed or parterre |
Planted on a 50 cm grid, PHILATELIE™ forms a regular, formal pattern, while the striped petals add individuality within traditional rose layouts, well suited to homeowners recreating classic rose gardens |
| Low rose hedge or path edging |
At 40 cm spacing it makes a low, upright hedge that defines paths and borders; the dark green foliage and repeated flowering create a neat, long-lived edging for those who like tidy, romantic paths |
| Cutting patch for home arrangements |
The high-centred, exhibition-style flowers with long, straight stems are ideal for cutting, so you can enjoy patterned blooms indoors without spoiling the garden display, appreciated by gardeners who love arranging their own flowers |
| Large container or terrace pot (40–50 L+) |
In a 40–50 litre or larger container with good drainage, PHILATELIE™ performs reliably, giving striped blooms close to the house and coping with blustery, damp weather if the compost is kept just moist, suiting busy urban and balcony gardeners |
| Long-term “investment” rose in a family plot |
As an own-root plant it ages steadily rather than tiring quickly, regenerating from the base if cut back hard and offering a long service life, making it a thoughtful choice for families planning a stable garden framework |
| Kitchen garden or utility area softening |
Placed at the edge of a kitchen garden, its repeat flowering and medium maintenance demands add decorative charm without constant attention, softening sheds, compost areas or fences for hobby gardeners who prefer low-fuss beauty |
Styling ideas
- COTTAGE BORDER RIBBON – Thread PHILATELIE™ through a border with foxgloves, lady’s mantle and wallflowers to create a soft, feminine “ribbon” of red-and-white blooms – ideal for cottage-style romantics.
- TEA-CORNER COMPANION – Flank a small seating nook with two PHILATELIE™ bushes and underplant with lavender and thyme for scented edging – perfect for those who enjoy slow afternoon tea outdoors.
- FORMAL STRIPED PARTERRE – Use regular spacing of PHILATELIE™ in a square or diamond layout, with clipped box or low hedging to frame its striking bicolour flowers – suited to lovers of classic, ordered gardens.
- VERTICAL ACCENT PAIRING – Combine PHILATELIE™ with a light climber such as sweet autumn clematis on an obelisk behind it, adding height and late-season froth – for gardeners who like layered, romantic structure.
- POTAGER HIGHLIGHT – Position a large tub-grown PHILATELIE™ at the entrance to a kitchen garden, mingling it with chives and marigolds for a cheerful, productive-meets-ornamental feel – appealing to practical home growers.
Technical cultivar profile
| Parameter |
Data |
| Name and registration |
Hybrid tea rose, registered as MACcastlet, marketed as PHILATELIE™ hybrid tea rose MACcastlet; ARS exhibition name Philatelie, from the word “philately”, meaning stamp collecting. |
| Origin and breeding |
Bred by Samuel Darragh McGredy IV (McGredy Roses International, New Zealand), from cross Tournament of Roses × Port Ludlow; bred 1989, registered 1989, introduced to market in 2000. |
| Growth and structural characteristics |
Upright habit, about 110–150 cm high and 60–90 cm spread; moderately dense, dark green, leathery foliage and moderate prickliness, forming a well-structured, medium-sized garden bush. |
| Flower morphology |
Large, double, high-centred hybrid tea blooms with 20–30 petals; mainly solitary on stems, exhibition-type form, remontant with a notably abundant second flush in suitable conditions. |
| Colour data and phenology |
Vivid raspberry-red and snow-white striped flowers (ARS RB; RHS 46A outer, 155D inner); strong marbling when fully open, with red tones softening and whites gently creamy as blooms age. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
Fragrance is very weak, with only a slight sweet note detectable in warm, still weather; mainly valued for colour and form rather than scent, and primarily ornamental rather than for perfume use. |
| Hip characteristics |
Rose hip set is limited due to the double flower form; occasionally produces small, spherical orange-red hips around 12–17 mm diameter, adding modest late-season decorative interest. |
| Resistance and winter hardiness |
Hardy to about −26 to −23 °C (RHS H7; Swedish zone 4; USDA 5b); good resistance to black spot and powdery mildew, moderate vulnerability to rust; moderate heat tolerance if watered in drought. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Best in full sun with free-draining soil; plant 40–75 cm apart depending on use, 4.2–4.8 plants/m² for massing; medium maintenance with occasional pest and disease checks and regular deadheading. |
PHILATELIE™ Hybrid tea rose MACcastlet offers dramatic striped blooms, reliable upright structure and long-lived own-root resilience, making it a thoughtful, easy-care choice for your next garden planting.
