Development of the collection of floral-ornamental plants of the Nikitsky Botanical Gardens

Modern collections of flower-ornamental crops of the Nikitsky Botanical Gardens (NBG) are formed as a result of long-term introduction and breeding researches that begun, respectively, for Rosa L. in 1812 and 1824, for Syringa L. in 1813 and 1941, for Iris × hybrida hort. in 1812 and 1986, for Hemerocallis × hybrida hort. in 1812 and 1995, for Clematis L. in 1817 and 1953, for Tulipa L. in 1812 and 1960, for Canna × hybrida hort. in 1812 and 1948, for Chrysanthemum × morifolium Ramat. in 1812 and 1939. Each collection currently includes cultivars of both foreign and domestic selection, including those created in the NBG. The total amount of the collections is 2406 species, cultivars and forms. The collections of roses, clematises, cannas and chrysanthemums are the largest in the Russian Federation. The Rosa collection includes 35 garden groups from 36 existing ones, Syringa - 6 from 7 groups of flower coloring, Iris - all 6 existing garden groups, Clematis - 14 garden groups, Tulipa - 14 garden classes from 15, Canna - both existing garden groups, and Chrysanthemum - all 11 classes of this crop. Thus the formed collections quite fully reflect the created varietal diversity of each of these crops and provide a full material for further breeding and identification of adapted assortment for landscaping in southern Russia.