One of my Mr Lincoln bushes (I have two now) was purchased in a hardware store in 1995. They had a bunch of roses sitting up at the front of the store, and each time I went into the store the bushes were budding and growing at an incredible rate even though they were still in their plastic bags. I paid $5.99 and planted the bush.
The first year I got a few roses from it, the bush grew to about two feet tall. Not exactly prolific, but the flowers were very nice. The second year I moved the bush to it's present location in the garden. It didn't like being moved and didn't flower at all.
The third the bush took off. It was the first plant to sprout in the spring after the snow melted, and it immediately shot up to be one of the tallest bushes in the garden. It grew to over six feet tall, with single deep red buds on stems two and a half to three feet long. It has been very prolific. It takes a while for the fragrant velvet buds to open up, but it is well worth the wait. The aphids were not too bad on the plant, and beetles never went near this bush. The plant seems to like hot weather, and repeats very quickly.
