A first flowering at RBGE for Iris zaprjagajewii one of the dwarf Juno Iris. Collected by members of the alpine and rock garden team on an expedition to Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan. A white flowered species with delicate black pencil like lines and a yellow stripe on the falls.  By way of contrast, Iris popovii is as colourful and showy an Iris as you will find in any of the sections of the genus. Also in the Juno section this plant is again found in the Pamir mountain range at 2400m, endemic to one area of the mountains where it is scarce. The flower is predominantly a light purple shade through the petals with the addition of a bright orange crest on the falls which resembles a cockerel’s comb. The tips of the falls terminating with a splash of red.

Iris popovii

Iris zaprjagjewii