Hey Mark, I am from the Greater Toronto region. I haven't grown him yet but will be soon. I've read that bs may not be the big problem, but mildew may at the end of season. It is supposed to be quite disease resistant.

It's on sale ($10) at Jackson & Perkins, don't know if they ship to you though.

The way I grow Mr Lincoln is to have at least 2 or three of them. Try raking off your mulch and trying another kind of mulch. Of course dont let the leaves get wet.I get Mr Lincoln to grow 5 or 6 feet tall.

Sam is right--you can prevent BS by keeping the leaves dry
Lots of folks have reported the need to use fungicides

Can you use a hoophouse? I can't because I intend to exhibit my better blooms.

blackspot is highly dependent on local conditions and weather. Hot and dry, you probably will not get blackspot. Cool and wet, you will. BS needs about 8 hours of wet leaves to come alive. So unless you are willing to go out on a rainy day and dry off all your leaves, you cannot prevent them from being wet and getting blackspot.

Here in the SE, almost all roses get blackspot, and I'm afraid that Mr. Lincoln does not display any resistance. It may do better in your zone, but don't be surprised if it does get some blackspot.

Mr. Lincoln was one of the first roses I grew. It came up, flowered with great looking blooms. Two days later all of the petals fell of the blooms. The bush did not have one single rose left with petals. I shovel pruned it but did not get all of the root stock. Not that I didn't try as I dug down at least 2 1/2 feet following a root. I said to myself, if it can come up from down that far it deserves to live...... it came up!!! So I now have Dr. Huey growing. Years later (here on the Gardenweb) I found out his name but at the time it was just another rose. I will never get rid of him as I will not break my promise....

Has anyone else experienced something like this with Mr. Lincoln????