STUDYING IRIS CULTIVARS FROM THE CLASS "SIBERIAN"IN THE FOREST-STEPPE CONDITIONS OF ALTAI REGION

The purpose of the research is to improve iris assortment from the SIB class by ornamental cultivars productive for the forest-steppe conditions of Altai region. The objects of the research are 17 cultivars with new flower stains. In the first ten-day event of June, the following cultivars effloresced: ‘Banish Misfortune’, ‘Salamander Crossing’, ‘Drei Quellen’, ‘Sarah Tiffney’, ‘Who's On First’ and ‘Harmony Hills’, the rest – in the second ten-day event. In more humid conditions of 2017, more flower stalks (8 ±4) were formed in biennial bushes than in 3-year olds in 2015 (5 ±4). Long blossomed (17–25 days) were cultivars with 5–8 flowers on pedicles: ‘Banish Misfortune’, ‘Drei Quellen’, ‘Coronation Anthem’, ‘Pennywhistle’, ‘Salamander Crossing’, ‘Who's On First’, ‘Sarah Tiffney’. Only they formed 10–20 peduncles in both 2015 and 2017. All cultivars of early blossoming period are promising for use in landscaping; among cultivars of average blossoming period are ‘Blackberry Jubilee’, ‘Hohe Warte’, ‘Pennywhistle’, ‘Coronation Anthem’, ‘Ranman’.