June Birth Flower: Rose and Honeysuckle Meaning and Care

The June birth flower is the rose, with honeysuckle as its partner. Both reach full bloom in the first weeks of summer, both are prized for their scent, and both have been tied to love for as long as people have written about flowers. One is the most famous flower in the world. The other is a twining vine that fills June evenings with perfume.

They make a fitting pair. The rose is formal, layered and rich, the flower of poets, royalty and wedding bouquets. Honeysuckle is wild and generous, scrambling through hedges and over fences, and it draws hummingbirds and moths from dusk onward.

This guide explains what each June birth flower means, how the colors change the message, and how to grow both in a US garden. It also covers the June birthstones, the two June zodiac signs, gift ideas and a warning about one honeysuckle you should not plant. For every month in one place, see our birth month flowers guide.

What Is the June Birth Flower?

June has two birth flowers. The rose is the traditional primary flower, and honeysuckle is the secondary flower. Most US birth flower charts list both, so either one suits a June birthday, and many florists combine them.

Both flowers earned their place by timing. In most of the Northern Hemisphere, garden roses open in their first and biggest flush in June. Honeysuckle starts flowering in late spring and is at its strongest in June, when its scent carries farthest on warm evenings. June is also the traditional wedding month, and the rose has been the flower of love since the ancient Greeks linked it to Aphrodite.

Flower	Botanical name	Main meaning	Flower color	Bloom season
Rose	Rosa species and hybrids	Love, beauty, gratitude	Red, pink, white, yellow, orange, lavender	Late May into fall (repeat bloomers)
Honeysuckle	Lonicera species	Devoted affection, bonds of love	Cream, yellow, pink, coral red	Late spring to summer, some repeat

Rose: June’s Primary Birth Flower

The rose belongs to the genus Rosa in the family Rosaceae, which also includes apples, cherries and hawthorn. There are around 150 wild species and tens of thousands of named cultivars. The flower ranges from the simple five-petaled blooms of wild dog roses to the dense, many-petaled hybrid teas sold on Valentine’s Day.

Where It Comes From

Wild roses grow across the Northern Hemisphere, from Alaska to North Africa and from Europe to Japan. Garden roses were bred in China, Persia and the Mediterranean for thousands of years before the China roses reached Europe in the late 1700s and brought the gift of repeat flowering. Since 1986 the rose has been the national flower of the United States, and it is the state flower of New York, Iowa, North Dakota, Georgia and Oklahoma.

Types of Roses for the Garden

• Hybrid teas: one large, high-centered flower per long stem. The classic cut rose, but the most work to keep healthy.
• Floribundas: clusters of medium flowers on a bushy plant, flowering almost without pause from June to frost.
• Shrub roses: tough, disease-resistant garden plants such as the Knock Out and Drift series that need little pruning.
• Climbers and ramblers: long canes for arches, fences and walls, often at their best in a single June display.
• Old garden roses: damasks, gallicas and albas with heavy scent, many flowering once in June.

Rose Meaning and Symbolism

The rose stands for love, beauty, passion and gratitude. No other flower carries so many layers of meaning, and the color, the number of stems and even the stage of the bud have all been read as messages at one time or another.

Rose Meanings by Color

Rose color	Traditional meaning	Best occasion
Red	Romantic love, passion, respect	Anniversaries, proposals, Valentine’s Day
Pink	Admiration, gratitude, gentle affection	Birthdays, thank-you gifts, new mothers
White	Purity, new beginnings, remembrance	Weddings, christenings, sympathy
Yellow	Friendship, joy, welcome home	Friends, get-well wishes, celebrations
Orange	Enthusiasm, energy, pride	Graduations, promotions, congratulations
Lavender	Enchantment, love at first sight	Early romance, Mother’s Day
Peach	Sincerity, modesty, closing a deal	Business thanks, housewarmings

For a June birthday, pink is the safest choice when you want warmth without a romantic message. If you are choosing from a wider palette, our guide to pink flowers lists partners that pair well with pink roses in a bouquet or a border.

In the Victorian Language of Flowers

Victorian flower dictionaries gave the rose dozens of entries. Kate Greenaway’s Language of Flowers, published in 1884, lists the red rose as “love,” the white rose as “I am worthy of you,” the yellow rose as “decrease of love” or “jealousy,” and a full-blown rose placed over two buds as “secrecy.” The yellow meaning has softened over the past century, and today yellow roses are the flower of friendship.

Myths, Faith and History

In Greek myth the first red rose sprang from the blood of Aphrodite as she ran to her wounded lover Adonis. The Romans scattered rose petals at feasts and hung a rose over a table to mark private talk, which is the root of the phrase “sub rosa.” In Christian art the rose became the flower of the Virgin Mary, and the rosary takes its name from a garland of roses. In fifteenth-century England the houses of York and Lancaster fought the Wars of the Roses under white and red emblems.

How to Grow Roses

Roses have a reputation for being fussy, and the old hybrid teas earned it. Modern shrub roses are far easier. Give any rose sun, air, water and a yearly prune, and it will reward you with flowers from June until frost.

Light, Soil and Zones

Plant roses in full sun, which means at least 6 hours a day, with morning sun being the most valuable because it dries dew from the leaves. The soil should be rich, loose and well drained, with a pH around 6.0 to 6.5. Hardiness varies by type. Many shrub roses and species roses survive Zone 3 or 4, hybrid teas are happiest in Zones 5 to 9, and some China and tea roses thrive in Zone 10.

Planting Bare-Root and Container Roses

Bare-root roses are sold dormant in late winter and early spring. Soak the roots for a few hours, dig a hole about 18 inches wide, and build a cone of soil in the middle so the roots spread downward. Set the bud union (the knobby graft point) at soil level in mild climates or 2 inches below it in cold ones. Container roses can go in from spring through early fall. Water deeply after planting and mulch 2 to 3 inches, keeping the mulch off the canes.

Pruning Roses

• When: late winter or early spring, just as the buds begin to swell. Forsythia bloom is the traditional signal.
• What to remove: dead, damaged and crossing canes first, then any thin growth smaller than a pencil.
• How hard: cut hybrid teas and floribundas back to 3 to 5 strong canes about 12 to 18 inches tall. Shrub roses need only a light shaping, taking off about a third.
• Cuts: make each cut about a quarter inch above an outward-facing bud, angled away from the bud.
• Climbers: prune after the June flush, keeping the main framework and shortening side shoots to 2 or 3 buds.

Deadhead repeat-flowering roses through summer by cutting back to the first leaf with five leaflets. Stop deadheading about six weeks before your first frost so the plant can harden off, and leave the hips on species roses for the birds.

Black Spot, Aphids and Other Problems

Black spot is the most common rose disease in the US. It is a fungus, Diplocarpon rosae, that shows as round black spots with feathery edges on the leaves, followed by yellowing and leaf drop. It spreads by water splash, so water at the base in the morning, space plants for air flow and rake up fallen leaves. Resistant cultivars are the best long-term answer. Where it is a yearly problem, a fungicide spray program starting as leaves open in spring will keep it in check.

Aphids cluster on soft new shoots and buds in late spring. A hard spray from the hose knocks most of them off, and ladybugs, lacewings and hoverflies usually clean up the rest within a few weeks. Insecticidal soap works for heavy infestations. Powdery mildew shows as a white dusting on leaves in warm days and cool nights, and Japanese beetles chew flowers in July. Hand-pick beetles into soapy water in the early morning. The Penn State Extension has a clear guide to black spot timing and control.

Water and Feeding

Roses want about an inch of water a week, given deeply rather than in daily sprinkles. Feed with a balanced rose fertilizer or compost in early spring and again after the first flush of bloom, then stop by late summer. If you want roses for the vase, our guide to planning a cut flower garden explains spacing and harvest timing.

Honeysuckle: June’s Second Birth Flower

Honeysuckle is the genus Lonicera, a group of about 180 shrubs and twining vines in the family Caprifoliaceae. The flowers are tubular, often in pairs or whorls, and open cream, yellow, pink or red. Children have long pulled the flower from its base to taste the drop of nectar inside, which is how the plant got its name.

Flowers, Scent and Wildlife

The scent of honeysuckle is strongest at dusk, because the pale European species evolved to be pollinated by night-flying hawk moths. The red-flowered American species have little scent but are shaped for hummingbirds, which visit them from spring until fall. After flowering, the vines carry clusters of red, orange or black berries that feed birds, though the berries are mildly toxic to people and should not be eaten.

Honeysuckle Species Worth Knowing

• Coral or trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens): native to the eastern US, with scarlet tubular flowers, Zones 4 to 9. The best choice for American gardens.
• European honeysuckle or woodbine (Lonicera periclymenum): the fragrant hedgerow vine of Britain, with cultivars such as ‘Serotina’ and ‘Graham Thomas’, Zones 5 to 9.
• Goldflame honeysuckle (Lonicera x heckrottii): a hybrid with pink and gold flowers and light scent, Zones 5 to 9.
• Winter honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima): a shrub with tiny, intensely scented flowers in late winter.
• Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica): fragrant white and yellow flowers, but invasive. See the warning below.

Honeysuckle Meaning and Symbolism

Honeysuckle stands for devoted affection, the bonds of love and sweetness. The way the vine twines around its support and holds on through the seasons made it a natural symbol of a love that does not let go. Greenaway’s 1884 dictionary lists honeysuckle as “generous and devoted affection” and the woodbine as “fraternal love.”

Folklore and Luck

In British folklore, honeysuckle growing by the door kept evil away and brought good luck to the house. Scottish tradition held that its sweet scent inside a home could bring dreams of love. In Victorian times, young women were sometimes warned not to bring it indoors because the scent was thought to encourage romantic dreams. In Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Titania describes the woodbine’s embrace as the model of a lover’s hold.

Honeysuckle in Bouquets

Honeysuckle is rarely sold as a cut flower because the blooms drop within a day or two. It works best as a garden gift or as a short cutting of flowering vine tucked into a June bouquet of roses, where its scent does the talking.

How to Grow Honeysuckle

Honeysuckle is an easy vine. Give it something to climb, decent soil and a sunny spot, and it will cover a fence in two or three summers.

Site, Soil and Support

Plant in full sun for the most flowers, or part shade in hot climates. The old gardeners’ rule of “head in the sun, feet in the shade” suits it well, so mulch the roots. Any moist, well-drained soil will do. Honeysuckle climbs by twining, not by clinging, so it needs a trellis, wires, an arbor or a chain-link fence rather than a bare wall. Space plants 3 to 5 feet apart.

Planting and Care

• Planting: set out container plants in spring or fall, 6 to 12 inches from the base of the support. Water deeply through the first summer.
• Pruning: trim lightly after flowering to keep the vine tidy. Every few years, cut an overgrown plant back hard in late winter. It regrows fast.
• Feeding: a layer of compost each spring is enough. Too much nitrogen means leaves instead of flowers.
• Problems: aphids on new growth and powdery mildew in dry, crowded spots. Both respond to the same fixes used on roses.

A Warning About Japanese Honeysuckle

Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) was brought to the US in 1806 as an ornamental and for erosion control. It escaped. Today it is listed as invasive or noxious in dozens of states across the East, South and Midwest, where it smothers shrubs, girdles young trees and shades out native wildflowers. Birds spread its black berries for miles. Several Asian bush honeysuckles, including Amur (Lonicera maackii) and Tatarian (Lonicera tatarica), cause the same harm in woodlands and are banned in some states.

If you garden in the United States, do not plant Japanese honeysuckle, even the popular ‘Halliana’ form, and remove it if it arrives on its own. Pull seedlings by hand, cut mature vines at the base and treat the stump, and repeat for two or three seasons. The USDA National Invasive Species Information Center keeps a state-by-state list.

Native Honeysuckles to Plant Instead

Coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) is the clear winner. It is native from Connecticut to Florida and west to Texas, hardy in Zones 4 to 9, and flowers from spring into fall with scarlet tubes that hummingbirds visit all day. ‘Major Wheeler’ is the most free-flowering cultivar, and ‘John Clayton’ has yellow flowers. It stays where you put it and makes a fine partner for a climbing rose on the same arch, much like the combination we suggest for columbine flower plantings that feed hummingbirds in spring. In the West, orange honeysuckle (Lonicera ciliosa) fills the same role.

Rose vs Honeysuckle at a Glance

Feature	Rose	Honeysuckle
Plant type	Deciduous shrub or climber, 2 to 20 feet	Twining vine or shrub, 6 to 20 feet
Light	Full sun, 6 or more hours	Full sun to part shade
Hardiness	USDA Zones 3 to 10 depending on type	USDA Zones 4 to 9 depending on species
Flowers	Single to fully double, 1 to 6 inches across	Tubular, in pairs or whorls, 1 to 2 inches long
Scent	Varies from none to strong, strongest in old roses	Strong at dusk in pale species, faint in red natives
Pollinators	Bees, especially on single flowers	Hummingbirds, moths, bees
Pruning	Hard prune in late winter, deadhead in summer	Light trim after flowering
Main problems	Black spot, aphids, Japanese beetles	Aphids, mildew, invasive species

June Birth Flower Bouquets and Gift Ideas

June is the easiest birth flower month to shop for. Roses are available everywhere, all year, and in a dozen colors, so the only decision is which message you want to send.

Bouquet Ideas

• Garden rose posy: six to twelve stems of scented garden roses in soft pink or apricot, with a few sprigs of honeysuckle for perfume.
• June birthday mix: roses with peonies, sweet peas and lady’s mantle, all at their peak in early summer.
• Single color statement: a dozen stems in one color, chosen from the meanings table above, tied simply with twine.
• White and green: white roses with foliage and a few white flowers such as ranunculus for a wedding-style arrangement.

Cut roses last longest if you recut the stems under water and strip the leaves below the waterline. Our guide to flower arranging for beginners covers conditioning and a simple hand-tied bouquet.

Gifts Beyond the Vase

• A potted shrub rose for the garden, which flowers every June for decades. Choose a disease-resistant variety and the recipient’s favorite color.
• A coral honeysuckle vine with a small obelisk or trellis, a living gift for anyone who loves hummingbirds.
• Rose or honeysuckle perfume, soap, candles or tea, which capture the scent year-round.
• Rose jewelry or a rose print paired with pearls, the June birthstone.
• A jar of rose petal jam or honeysuckle syrup, both traditional June kitchen projects.

June Birthstones, Zodiac Signs and Other June Flowers

Birth flowers sit alongside the other June symbols, and together they make gift giving easy.

Pearl, Alexandrite and Moonstone

June is one of only three months with three birthstones. The pearl is the traditional stone and stands for purity and wisdom, which echoes the white rose. Alexandrite is a rare gem that shifts from green in daylight to red under lamplight, a neat match for a rose that opens pink and deepens by evening. Moonstone, with its soft inner glow, is linked to new beginnings and calm. A pearl pendant with a single pink rose covers the June symbols with very little effort.

Gemini and Cancer

People born June 1 to June 20 are Gemini, an air sign associated with curiosity, wit and sociability. Those born June 21 to June 30 are Cancer, a water sign tied to home, loyalty and deep feeling. Florists often match Gemini with bright, mixed bouquets in yellow and orange, and Cancer with soft white and pink roses, which maps neatly onto the rose color meanings.

Other Flowers Linked to June

June is also the month of peonies, delphiniums, foxgloves, lavender and the first water lily flowers on garden ponds. For a wider look at what blooms when, browse our illustrated list of types of flowers.

June follows the May birth flowers, lily of the valley and hawthorn, and the April birth flowers, the daisy and sweet pea. Earlier in the year, the March birth flower is the daffodil, the February birth flowers are the violet and primrose, and the January birth flowers are the carnation and snowdrop.

Fun Facts About June’s Birth Flowers

• Fossil roses around 35 million years old have been found in Colorado and Oregon.
• The rose has been the national flower of the United States since 1986.
• Rose hips are one of the richest natural sources of vitamin C and were gathered for syrup in Britain during World War II.
• The phrase “sub rosa,” meaning in secret, comes from the Roman habit of hanging a rose over a private meeting.
• Honeysuckle got its name from the drop of nectar children suck from the base of the flower.
• Coral honeysuckle can flower for six months straight in a warm climate, feeding hummingbirds from spring migration to fall.

June Birth Flower FAQs

What is the June birth flower?

June has two birth flowers. The rose is the primary June birth flower, and honeysuckle is the secondary flower. The rose stands for love, beauty and gratitude, with each color adding its own meaning. Honeysuckle stands for devoted affection and the bonds of love. Both reach peak bloom in June across most of the US.

What does the rose symbolize?

The rose symbolizes love, beauty, passion and gratitude. Color refines the message: red means romantic love, pink means admiration and thanks, white means purity and new beginnings, yellow means friendship, and orange means enthusiasm. Victorian flower dictionaries gave the rose dozens of entries, and the Greeks linked it to Aphrodite, the goddess of love.

What does honeysuckle symbolize?

Honeysuckle symbolizes devoted affection, lasting bonds and sweetness. The vine twines tightly around its support and holds on through every season, which made it a symbol of a love that does not let go. Kate Greenaway’s 1884 Language of Flowers lists honeysuckle as generous and devoted affection. In folklore it also brought luck and protection to a home.

Why are the rose and honeysuckle the June birth flowers?

Both flowers reach their peak in June. Garden roses open in their first and largest flush in early summer, and honeysuckle is at its most fragrant on warm June evenings. June is also the traditional wedding month, and both flowers have stood for love for centuries, which made them a natural fit when birth flower lists were drawn up.

How do I treat black spot on roses?

Black spot is a fungal disease that spreads by water splash. Water at the base in the morning, give plants space for air flow, and rake up and discard fallen leaves. Remove infected leaves as you see them. For a yearly problem, start a fungicide program as the leaves open in spring, and replace weak plants with disease-resistant shrub roses over time.

Is honeysuckle invasive in the United States?

Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) and several Asian bush honeysuckles are invasive across much of the eastern, southern and midwestern US, where they smother native plants. Native coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) is not invasive and is the best choice for American gardens. It has scarlet tubular flowers, grows in Zones 4 to 9 and attracts hummingbirds.

What are the June birthstones and zodiac signs?

June has three birthstones: pearl, alexandrite and moonstone. Pearl is the traditional stone and stands for purity, alexandrite changes color from green to red under different light, and moonstone is linked to new beginnings. People born June 1 to June 20 are Gemini, and those born June 21 to June 30 are Cancer.