In this yard many classic HTs, including 'Mr Lincoln' have been slow to take off as own roots. Eventually they do form strong, big, healthy and productive plants, but have taken 4-5 years to do so. A little TLC will probably get you there faster. Try fish emulsion (1 Tbs in a gallon of water) once every 3-4 weeks as a gentle booster.

The Mr Lincoln in my garden is grafted, and even it took a few years to really get itself going strong. I've started using OrganicGem fish fert on my roses this year, and so far have had great results.

3 of my Mr. L have been in the ground here for 1 year and are 3+ feet tall and vigorous. They are on Fortuniana. I don't spray them, but BS doesn't seem to be much of a problem for Mr. L here. The flowers are big and very fragrant. They don't bloom as much as I would like, but then, no rose does!
Happy Gardening,
Avalon

Thanks everybody for your responses so far!

hoovb - Sounds like I have to learn to be patient with my own root Mr. Lincoln, but it is good to read that eventually he can become strong on his own roots. I haven't fertilized my bands at all yet, so I will get the fish emulsion tomorrow and start to feed my bands with the dose you recommended!

phonyxryan - It is astonishing, that it took long even for your grafted Mr. Lincoln to get established. Do you know on what rootstock yours is growing? In any case "fish food" seems to be the way to go in terms of roses!

avalon - How interesting that you have a different experience with Mr. Lincoln grafted on Fortuniana growing tall and vigorous after one year. I think, I remember another post, where someone stated that roses grafted on Fortuniana are growing better than grafted on Dr. Huey. But I don't know if Fortuniana is suited for California.
"They [the three Mr. Lincoln roses] don't bloom as much as I would like, but then no rose does!" I can relate to that :-)!

I would love to hear from a few more people!

i received one from heirloom on 08/21. it grew quickly and by 10/21, it bloomed 4 times, each time with one to two flowers. yet starting from late October, the location of my mr. Lincoln is getting minimal sun light. one cane turned black. i had to dig him out and put in a pot placing at another sunny spot. so far my ML is still alive yet it didnt grow at all. i kept telling myself "be patient". i am in 9b central fl

Guess it depends...my Julia Child Own root, is something I have to cut back every time it flushes or it is huge 6 foot plus. Could be the climate or the rose or the soil. I don't think own root is the answer for everyone or every rose.

There was a huge nursery own root trend about 10 years ago, to try and reduce the need for gas, by shipping smaller plants. The big growers had presentations and were all trying it. Mr. Lincoln was the one rose that just would not root well, not grow well and went down hill own root. Maybe it needs a really specific climate that isn't normal for roses, or maybe it is as the producers found out...really much, much better grafted.

i thought the advantage of own root was for those of us in climates where dieback was a risk. At least we would still have the root. What other merits are there?

Well, I like own-root because there's a ton of Dr. Huey around here from too-cold temps and erratic winter/spring weather. I would rather know for certain that my rose is going to come back true every year. Also, huge selling point for me on own-root bands is that I hate digging big holes, and it's much easier to plant a band than a grafted plant, even one with chopped roots and tops. The selection of roses for those who shop own-root versus that of those who shop grafted does overlap plenty, but not completely, so that's something to keep in mind too if you're hunting for a certain variety.

In warmer zones, including mine, dieback is not a problem, and I've never lost a rose to a cold winter or spring. In colder zones, maybe there is an advantage to own root. I'm just speaking for myself. I like grafted roses. Diane