Introduction research of Iris species in the Stavropol botanical garden

In the process of plant introduction, the main task is to study the features of their biology and ecology, and as a result, their adaptive capabilities in specific climatic conditions. In nature, species of iris ( Iris L.) are widely distributed from the Northern regions to the subtropics and have a great ecological plasticity. In the conditions of the Stavropol upland, it is possible to successfully grow representatives of the genus iris from different parts of its range. The collection of irises in the Stavropol Botanical garden has 19 species. Species of Iris furcata, I. notha, and I. pumila that are common in grass-turf and meadow steppes, and I. pseudonotha that are common in wet meadows, have a stability in the conditions of culture, and they have an annual abundant flowering and fruiting. The timing of the beginning of generative phases of I. pumila development in culture and natural populations of the Stavropol upland varies within 5-7 days. In comparison with other species of local flora in the collection I. pseudonotha is most susceptible to diseases, for species I. halophila flowering is not observed every year. Some of the species in the collection are of Far Eastern Asian origin: I. domestica, I. ensata, I. lactea, I. laevigata, I. oxypetala, I. sanguinea and North American - I. versicolor. Among them, I. domestica shows the least frost and drought resistance, the flowering of the species occurs during the hottest period - the third decade of July, however, in some years, high seed productivity was observed for the species. Irregular flowering in the I-II decade of May was observed for I. lactea and I. oxypetala. The species I. ensata blooms in early June, a month earlier than in natural populations. Most of the Iris species in the collection are stable, and to a lesser extent adaptive potential is shown by species with a narrow ecological and phytocenotic affiliation - I. domestica, I. scariosa, I. halophila, and I. lactea . Species I. pseudonotha, I. domestica, and I. graminea do not reach their natural values in terms of habitus.