Olympiad and Erotica HTs are just as good if not even better check them out too

It mildews, where that is a problem. And, in fact, powdery mildew is the Achilles Heel of most fragrant red roses.

I agree that Olympiad is a superior rose, but it lacks FRAGRANCE. (EYE once said I could smell Olympiad -- and I CAN -- it's lightly, sweetly, fragrant) -- which appeared to amuse Sam McGredy.

I'd suggest 'Red Radiance,' but I can't smell that at all.

Jeri

Our old Mr Lincoln has set several levels of "bud unions" (not sure if that is the right term) Those set out new basal shoots.

I thought it was a climber, because it has made it to the roof on the old garage. Bare legged, thorny, almost leafless on the lower half, but setting buds from the ground up.

I planted both roses in Febuary of this year. The Mr Lincoln has been slower at growing than Olympiad. However the Olympiad has Black Spot and the Mr Lincoln hasn't.
jack

I heard Firefighter is a great smelling red rose..

Red Masterpiece is another Chrysler Imperial offspring, outstanding long lasting old rose scented blooms. Never have had powdery mildew on it and very little blackspot.

I wouldn't grow Olympiad if you paid me. So much beauty so little fragrance.

I've grown Chrysler Imperial, Oklahoma and Mister Lincoln. All three were excellent reds but Mister Lincoln is my favorite among the trio. Chrysler Imperial had a more shapely plant and faster repeat, but the color of the blooms was slightly lighter and more on the magenta side of red. Oklahoma had the darkest color of the three but I had a problem with weak stems and nodding. Mister Lincoln had everything - bloom wise - that I wanted: rich dark red color (the truest red of the three; although it does turn burgundy when the bloom is completely open, which is not a bad thing because of the color contrast with the golden stamens in the center), velvety petal texture, wonderful flower form, loooooong straight stems that hold the large blooms bolt upright, and an out of this world fragrance that is positively orgasmic (to this day whenever I smell a red rose it is Mister Lincoln that I'm comparing it to). I also liked the foliage, which is dark leathery green and a perfect foil for the sumptuous blossoms. The bush, however, is butt ugly if left to its own devices. The growth habit is extremely upright, tall and lanky, but in the hands of an experienced rosarian the plant can be pruned into a decent looking urn shaped shrub. You just have to stay after it with your pruners, which btw improves remontancy.

MISTER LINCOLN was my late father's favorite rose. I consider it THE quintessential red Hybrid Tea. In my climate it needs spraying to control black spot.

Why not get the combination of both Mr Lincoln and Chrysler Imperial? lol It's called the Flight 93 rose, bought one at Roses Unlimited last season. Don't know if they still have it, but it's been beautiful for me, and disease free so far. I don't detect a fragrance though, which is surprising to me.

Hmmm Molineux, wonder if our differences in experience are due to climate. For me, Chrysler Imperial out performs my #2 pick Crimson Glory, #3 Oklahoma, and #4 - Mr Lincoln, by magnitudes. Fragrance of all is similar enough, that I think one would be happy with the fragrance of any(although again for me, CI wins). I saw Firefighter in bloom at my local nursery - it didn't impress me more than CI. And I have yet to see Papa Meilland.

Take my input with a grain of salt Pembroke, since our climates are so different.

I loved Mr. L. Down here, but I lost him in a Round-Up incident. Disease free, blooms last days in a vase, long stems for cutting, but as noted, not a pretty bush. I don't really know how to prune HTs, so when I get him again, I will follow Molineux's advice and attempt to prune and see if I can improve his appearance.

Well, I'm new to roses, so haven't seen most of the ones you all have. But, FWIW, I've fallen in love with Lasting Love. The scent is rich and old fashioned and the flower is very large.
{{gwi:295091}}

This photo was taken late in the day and doesn't do justice to the rich, red color.

My neighbor got a good healthy Mr Lincoln when he moved in 2 yrs ago. He has added several more reds but built his garden around his Mr Lincoln. He has told me he will never be without him. He keeps it cut down to 4' after each bloom period and it bush's out nice.

We have 7 Mr. Lincoln's and 5 Double Delight roses. Both are great roses for the nose and the vase! This year we planted alyssum seed with the mulch and it has grown out and covered up the bottom of the bushes. Have not had any mildew so far this year but rust has been a bit of a problem. However, it has only occurred at the very bottom 12 inches of the bush. The rust of the bush is very healthy. We don't spray them and they seem to be holding their own against the rust. We do spray some of our roses in pots but we are not spraying anything in the rose beds. I'm still fiddling with the soil amendments, organic fertilizers, etc. trying to find the right combo to at least minimize disease. So far the more regularly we amend the soil the better overall the roses perform; less disease, healthier foliage and more frequent and bigger flowers. I've been adding banana peels to try to increase the potassium and earthworm activity in the soil. Not sure yet about the results....

Unintended pun - "the rust of the bush" oh my, the brain does sometimes short circuit!

I just tried Mr Lincoln for the first time this year. At first it seemed to have some mites of some kind . I ended that problem and lost all original leaves and now has all new leaves. I love the foliage on this rose they are soft and pliable different than other roses.
The roses dont seem to have much of a fragrance though just slight.

We have a own root Mister Lincoln. Very slow to bloom and doesn't bloom at all when fall cooler weather arrives here...
But I keep him because for whatever reason he does not get blackspot and that's rare for here...
He gets no mildew here either and his blooms do smell great...

BUT I still must suggest you get/try another rose besides ML...

OH CRAP! I just noticed this was a old thread... :-/

This post was edited by jim1961 on Fri, Aug 15, 14 at 21:34

Old thread, so what? We've all got something to say about this rose. My two cents is as follows: fragrant, fragrant, fragrant. Double Delight is the only HT I've got with more fragrance. That said, he is a stingy bloomer -- maybe half a dozen all year.
I have Don Juan as well, and that is shaping up to be a better looking, more productive bush (and also sublimely odiferous). On the other hand, however, a rose garden without Mr. Lincoln is ... well ... not really complete. IMHO.
Sylvia