I've grown Mister Lincoln on and off for many years, and more often than not it takes on magenta/bluish shades. Those of you that posted magenta pink pics of Mister Lincoln...In my opinion, you definitely have the right variety, sometimes that's just how it looks. It's the marketing for 50+ years that's always described Mister Lincoln as the quintessential red, in truth it's not always that red. Back in the late 60s when it was introduced, I think it was rightly considered very red. But the standard is higher now, with the introduction of roses like Olympiad and Veterans Honor, which are a far purer, true red. Mister Lincoln also opens too fast and doesn't last as long as those newer reds. It is still probably the best of the old 'reds' , a strong grower with very good fragrance. I think Firefighter is the best compromise between old and new reds...it is quite red, still very fragrant, and very generous in bloom.

Shots of the flower in all stages from bud to spent, leaves, canes and whole plant shots are always helpful. Yes, for the most part all roses require the same care. 6, preferably 8 hours of sunlight, about an inch of water per week, some fertilizer monthly and some pruning as needed to take out dead wood and keep the shape is pretty basic to all roses. In your zone you don't need to worry about things like winterizing. There are some exceptions in the pruning category but those are for very specific types of roses and yours does not appear to be any of those types. Keep it watered but do not let it get soggy or stay very wet for a long time because roses don't like soggy roots. Feed it any type of well balanced fertilizer. What ever you use on the rest of your garden will work just fine as long as you feed them regularly. In your zone I think most people do a hard "spring" pruning in February but I'm not in your zone so you may want to check that with a local nursery or better yet, contact a local rose society. They will be able to give you very good accurate information for your area. You can locate a local society by going to the American Rose Societies web site. They have a list of them on there. Really, roses aren't any harder to care for or require any thing more than what any perennial plant needs. So if you grow perennials you can grow roses! Here is a link that might be useful: American Rose Society

Hi, Brandon. Thank you for writing from my region! I have also grown roses here since the mid 1990s, and I've never had rose borer problems either until recently. I checked my neighbors' roses today and notice that many also have borers. The buggers seem to have moved in during the last couple of years or so. I can identify old holes from (at least) last year in my rose canes. Things have been rather hectic at my house, so I haven't been paying a lot of attention to my garden over the last two years. This year, the critters seem to be legion! They even bored through the Elmer's Glue and nail polish I just pasted on my Penelope. I really should prune my OGRs after bloom, anyway, so I think that's what I'll start doing. Due to time constraints, I've always pruned all my roses except ramblers in late winter. If my HTs and floribundas survive this spring, I'll seal them with something more durable each year and do what you suggest, prune them a little later in the springtime. Do you know when rose borers are done with the egg laying stage? I'm researching that topic. I'll be curious to hear if my neighborhood is an anomaly or if rose borers are becoming more plentiful in the Willamette Valley. Raspberries have grown in popularity in my area, so I'm checking out raspberry borer sites as well. Thank you again for your local feedback and any new info you discover. Carol

haha - love the "awkward adolescence" analogy! I think I'll leave them and wait for the rest of the plant to catch up. It definitely looks a bit strange, but more than anything I'm happy the roses are taking off like this - they apparently didn't get the memo on "1st year sleep, 2nd year creep, 3rd year leap" since they seem to have skipped straight to year 3. :) Hopefully by next year the bushes will look a bit more uniform! I would be thrilled if Sunshine Daydream ends up being a 6-foot rose - it's the one that started my obsession with roses (those perfect creamy yellow blooms, sigh). And at the rate it's going, Lady of Shalott is going to be a 10-footer at my house! :) Thanks everyone for the great comments!