Mister Lincoln
Dark red · repeat-blooming · Zones 5-9
Bright, classic red exhibition rose.
A red member of the hybrid tea roses group, Let Freedom Ring is grown for its long succession of blooms and its fragrance. Below you'll find a full profile of Let Freedom Ring — its characteristics, how to grow it, where to use it in the garden, and answers to the questions gardeners ask most.
As one of the hybrid tea roses, Let Freedom Ring carries the traits gardeners look for in the group — large, high-centered double blooms, usually one to a long stem. The hybrid tea is grown above all for the individual flower — long-stemmed, shapely, and ideal for cutting — rather than for mass color in the landscape.
In flower, Let Freedom Ring is red and fills the plant with bloom in wave after wave, carrying a moderate, clearly noticeable fragrance. It is hardy across USDA zones 5-9, so it suits a wide range of gardens with the right seasonal care.
Let Freedom Ring makes upright, fairly narrow bush, typically around 3 to 5 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide. The blooms are large, high-centered double blooms, usually one to a long stem, large (4 to 5 inches) in size, set against semi-glossy green foliage. Knowing a rose's habit and mature size is the key to placing it well: give Let Freedom Ring room to reach its full spread without crowding its neighbors, which also keeps air moving through the plant and disease at bay.
Plant Let Freedom Ring where it will get at least six hours of direct sun a day in fertile, well-drained soil with good air movement around it. In cold climates, set the graft union — the swollen knob where the variety joins the rootstock — at or just below the soil line; in mild climates, keep it at soil level. Once planted, water deeply and less often to encourage deep, drought-resistant roots.
Let Freedom Ring suits cutting gardens, formal rose beds, and specimen planting. Underplant it with low perennials such as catmint or lady's mantle to disguise the bare lower stems. For more ideas, see our guide to companion plants for roses.
Hybrid teas can be prone to black spot in humid regions, so air flow and autumn clean-up matter. Watch for the usual rose troubles — black spot, powdery mildew, and aphids — and head them off with good air flow, base watering, and a tidy autumn clean-up. See our full guide to rose diseases and pests for identification and treatment.
Let Freedom Ring typically grows about 3 to 5 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide, forming a upright, fairly narrow bush. Its final size depends on your climate and how you prune it.
Yes — Let Freedom Ring has a moderate, clearly noticeable fragrance, and scent is one of the reasons to grow it.
Yes. Let Freedom Ring is a repeat-blooming rose that blooms in repeated flushes from late spring until the first frost, especially if it is deadheaded and fed through the summer.
Let Freedom Ring is hardy in USDA zones 5-9. That range describes the winter cold it can survive; gardeners colder than zone 5 should give it winter protection or grow it in a movable container.
Hybrid teas can be prone to black spot in humid regions, so air flow and autumn clean-up matter. Give Let Freedom Ring full sun, well-drained soil, and the ordinary seasonal care any rose appreciates, and it is a straightforward rose to grow.
Prune Let Freedom Ring in late winter to an open, outward-facing framework, then deadhead through the season — see our step-by-step guide to pruning roses for the full method.