Iris reticulata

First of many.

I raised this form from seed collected in 1997 in Central Asia, distributed through the Scottish Rock Garden Club seed exchange. It comes under the umbrella of Iris reticulata, but might be called Iris kopetdaghensis by some, as this rich red-purple flower fits the description of that plant from the Kopet Dag mountains in Turkmenistan.

It is not difficult to raise these little bulbous irises from seed, just takes several years before they are big enough to flower. Notice the pot in the background with many fat noses of the related Iris histrioides poking through :)