If there’s one person who’s famed for having a good garden, it’s Monty Don. His garden at Longmeadow is sprawling, abundant, and overflowing with colour and life, and in June in particular, the roses are looking especially spectacular.
Right now, one variety in particular is standing out – a soft, romantic climber that’s as productive as it is pretty, prompting many to herald it as one of the best roses around. While the plant itself is certainly worthy of attention, it’s Monty’s approach to caring for it that really makes the difference.
That’s right, folks. As ever, his advice strips things back to something simple, practical, and easy to apply in any garden, making it easier than ever for anyone (regardless of their gardening knowledge!) to learn how to grow roses like a pro.
Monty Don’s roses
If you’re looking for a Monty Don-approved rose that delivers romance, scent, and repeat blooms through early summer, there’s one variety currently getting attention in the gardening world.
On his Instagram, Monty recently shared that he grows The Pilgrim, £35 from Burford Garden Co., an English climbing rose bred by David Austin Roses – a soft, buttery yellow climber known for its rich fragrance and generous flowering habit.
Check it out:
David Austin Roses
Rosa the Pilgrim®
The rose itself is an undeniable star. Still, Monty’s advice for keeping it performing through June is refreshingly simple. In fact, it comes down to just one consistent task: deadhead properly, and do it often.
Yes, in a post on his blog, Monty Don explains that the secret to extending a rose’s flowering season isn’t complicated feeding regimes or specialist treatments – it’s disciplined deadheading.
‘Do not just pull off the spent petals, but use secateurs (I recommend Spear & Jackson’s Razorsharp Advantage Bypass Secateurs, £12.81 at Amazon) and cut the spent stem right back to the next leaf or bud below it – however far down that is,’ he writes. ‘This will provoke a side shoot, which in turn will carry more flowers.’
Shop pruning essentials
Spear & Jackson
Razorsharp Advantage Bypass Secateurs
McGregor Garden Hand Shears
Fiskars Carbon Steel Two-Handed Loppers
In other words, every spent bloom is an opportunity to reset the plant. Rather than simply tidying the flower head, you’re actively shaping the next flush of growth. Or, as Monty Don puts it, ‘when gardeners deadhead, they are effectively pruning and thus stimulating fresh side shoots which will bear new flower buds and therefore extend the flowering season’.
The key detail here is precision. Monty recommends cutting back to the first leaf below the faded flower, rather than snipping casually at the top. That small difference encourages stronger, more productive regrowth.
June is peak climbing rose season in the UK, when plants like Monty Don’s The Pilgrim are putting on vigorous growth. At this stage, energy is constantly cycling between flowering and new shoot production. Deadheading with secateurs interrupts the seed-setting process and redirects that energy into fresh flowering stems instead. The result is a longer, more continuous display rather than a single heavy flush.
Still, this isn’t a one-size-fits-all rule for every rose. ‘Some roses, especially the species bushes, have glorious hips in autumn, and these will only develop if the flowers are allowed to set seed and fruit, so enjoy the flowers as long as they last and then wait for the autumnal display that they will produce from their fruit,’ explains Monty.
So while repeat-flowering climbers like The Pilgrim benefit from regular deadheading, other roses may be better left to develop their autumn hips.
Shop alternative climbing roses
Crocus
Rosa Golden Showers | Climbing Rose
Thompson & Morgan
Rose Banksiae Var. Banksiae (climbing Rose)
Gardening Express
Rosa ‘siluetta Lavender’ – Rambling Rose
FAQs
Is June the month of roses?
Ask any gardener worth their salt, and they will tell you in no uncertain terms that June is the month of roses.
‘In most UK gardens, June is when roses really hit their stride. It’s the month when wide varieties put on their first big flush of flowers, especially climbers and repeat-flowering shrub roses,’ says Christopher O’Donoghue of Gardens Revived.
That being said, he notes that there are a few things to bear in mind. ‘Once-flowering roses usually bloom heavily in late spring to early summer, with June being their main show,’ he says. ‘On the other hand, repeat-flowering roses are often at the end of their first flush in June, with more flowers to come through summer. ‘
‘Basically, June is one of the key rose months, but it’s really the start of the main season rather than the whole story,’ finishes Christopher.
Can you get roses in June?
Yes, you can absolutely get roses in June – in fact, this is when many are at their best in UK gardens and garden centres.
‘Container-grown roses are widely available and can be planted all summer, as long as they’re watered well,’ says Christopher O’Donoghue of Gardens Revived. ‘Just be sure to water them deeply and regularly, and mulch them to help them retain their moisture.’
While shopping for bare-root roses is cheaper, there are advantages to getting roses in June. ‘You can see the colour, scent, and growth habit in real time, rather than relying on labels or catalogue photos,’ Christopher points out.
If you do only one thing for your roses this June, make it the Monty Don habit: go out with a pair of secateurs and deadhead properly, cutting back to the first healthy leaf or bud beneath each faded bloom.
It’s simple, quick, and, as Monty’s own practice shows, it’s one of the most effective ways to keep beautiful blooms like The Pilgrim® flowering well into the season.
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