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Mister Lincoln – A Rose Worthy of a President

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Stan V. Griep

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Mister Lincoln Closeup
Photo Credit: Stan V. Griep
Mister Lincoln is an elegant stunner!
If ever there were a plant fit for a president, Mister Lincoln (Rosa ‘Mister Lincoln’) would be it! Named in honor of our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, this award-winning rose offers amazing fragrance with beauty to match! (In fact, I think it would be very fitting if our government would find a way to plant this rose around the Lincoln Memorial…maybe even in copper pots made from recycled pennies!)

This hybrid tea rose has been standing proud since it was first bred in 1964, today blooming aplenty and bringing wonderful fragrance to countless rose beds and gardens. From the time of my first rose memory, Mister Lincoln was a name well at the forefront. My mother’s rose beds have never been without this beauty. (Today I help her tend to seven of them in her current garden.)

Nearly every large bloom of this amazing plant seems to have the appearance of expensive red velvet, with 30-35 petals per flower. (For us here in Colorado, Mister Lincoln starts to bloom in early June and then blooms again and again until the first frosts, sometimes as late as mid-November.) And in my opinion, Mister Lincoln sets a standard for fragrance that’s hard to match! Cutting some flowers to take indoors is truly a special treat, because the fragrance will just fill the room. In fact, these beautiful and perfumed blooms have won many a trophy at various rose shows, including “Most Fragrant Rose.”

In addition to being gorgeous, Mister Lincoln is a very hardy rosebush here in Colorado, as well as in many other areas with cold winters and hot summers. The plant loves to reach toward the sky, too, as if to display its beautiful blooms to those traveling in airplanes or hot air balloons! (Well, okay, maybe not quite that tall…but I have heard that Mister Lincoln reaches well-over 7 feet tall in some parts of California!)

Warnings
  • Mister Lincoln does tend to get powdery mildew. Keep an eye out for it and spray as soon as noticed. (Early treatment is always best.)
Facts
  • What’s behind an outstanding rose? Great parentage! Mister Lincoln is a cross between Rosa ‘Chrysler Imperial’ and R. ‘Charles Mallerin’. He was bred in the US in 1964 by Herbert C. Swim and O.L. Weeks, then introduced by The Conard-Pyle Co. (Star® Roses).
  • Mister Lincoln was named an All-America selection in 1965. Its rosebush rating through the American Rose Society is an 8.3. Under the society’s rating system, this means Mister Lincoln is rated as a very good to excellent rose that’s recommended to others without hesitation.
Tips
  • Mister Lincoln, like all roses, loves the sunshine. Give him room to grow under the fullness of the sun’s rays.
 
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