Every so often, a rose comes along that is completely different to anything else around and this month, we feature one such rose that has stood the test of time.
‘Eyepaint’ is a very free flowering shrub rose that can also be grown in some situations as pillar or climbing rose up 1.5 metres high and wide. It’s main attribute are the masses of single scarlet blooms with a distinctive eye that changes from yellow to silver as it ages. In full bloom, ‘Eyepaint’ is a stunning sight. Generally trouble free and a great rose to provide colour in the garden.
Bred by Sam McGredy who nicknamed the rose ‘Eyepaint’ while it was being tested as a seedling, it is bred from an un-named seedling crossed with ‘Picasso’, is a sister seedling to the floribunda ‘Matangi’. Still a novelty after all these years and worth growing in any garden.
