Annual Summer Workshop, August 8, 2026

May 26, 2026
Featured Happenings

This year’s Annual Summer Workshop, to be held Saturday, August 8, will focus on the topic “Not Your Grocery Store Phalaenopsis.” An all-day event from 8:30am to 4:30pm, the workshop will be held at First Christian Church, 1601 Sunset Boulevard, in Houston.

A Friday night social for all attendees with the speakers will take place at 6pm at Daria Souvorova’s residence. Registrants will receive an email with more information.

The workshop will focus on the two main varieties of Phalaenopsis orchids—standard multifloral types and the warm-growing novelty types—and how to grow them in our unique Southern Gulf Coast climate as well as indoors. Speakers include Phillip Hamilton of Bredren Orchids in Florida; David Edgley, AOS Judging Chair and expert on standard multifloral Phalaenopsis; and local Houston-area growers who will share their own insights into growing these orchids locally.

In addition to the classes there will be AOS judging, plant and book sales, and a silent auction. Lunch is included in the $65/person registration fee, and AOS judging will be held during the lunch break. Please use the form below to register. You may register for the workshop using a credit or debit card by scrolling down. If you prefer to pay at the workshop, please send an email to Daria Souvorova with your intention to attend so that we have an accurate head count for lunch.

Workshop Agenda—
Not Your Grocery Store Phalaenopsis
(And How to Grow Them in Our Climate)

8:30 amRegistration and social
9:00 amOpening remarks: Sarah Bentley
9:05 amIntroduction of speakers: Daria Souvorova
9:15–10:00 amSpeaker: David Edgley, “Phalaenopsis Soup to Nuts”
10:00–10:15 amBreak
10:15–11:00 amSpeaker: Phillip Hamilton, “Novelty Phalaenopsis: Their Culture and Important Species’
11:00–11:15 amBreak
11:15 am–1:15 pmLunch, AOS judging, silent auction, sales
1:15–2:00 pmSpeaker: David Edgley, “Judging Phalaenopsis”
2:00–2:15 pmBreak
2:15–3:00 pmSpeaker: Phillip Hamilton, “Memoirs of a Toothpick: Reflections on my Phalaenopsis Hybridizing Adventures”
3:10 pmSilent auction ends
3:20–4:00 pmCulture panel discussion and Q&A

Download a printable version of the agenda

Register your plant(s) for judging

About the Workshop Speakers

David Edgley

David has been growing Phalaenopsis for decades, introduced to them as a teenager living on a Navy base in the Philippines. A hobby grower, David has been active in local societies and shows, spreading the good news about Phalaenopsis. In his small and rather crowded (10-ft x 12-ft) greenhouse in the Pacific Northwest in the small tourist town of La Conner, Washington, David grows hundreds of orchids, primarily Phalaenopsis. In addition, David has made a few of his own crosses. Over the years, he has killed his fair share and hopefully learned most of what not to do. Having tried nearly every possible potting media (except shredded newspaper) and fertilizer fad, David has learned some hard but valuable lessons over the years. Some of David’s favorite Phalaenopsis are Harlequins, multiflorals, reds, oranges, yellows, and, of course, novelty hybrids. Favorite species include Phal. schilleriana, equestris, tetraspis, and bellina. He is an accredited American Orchid Society judge, former AOS trustee, treasurer of the International Phalaenopsis Alliance (IPA), and chair of the AOS Judging Committee.

Phillip Hamilton

Born and raised in Jamaica, Phillip inherited his father Claude’s passion for orchids and grew up working in his parents’ orchid nursery, Hamlyn Orchids. Although his father’s true orchid passion is with the Jamaican native, Broughtonias, and their hybrids, Phillip’s passion leaned heavily toward Phalaenopsis, which he has been growing and hybridizing since the age of eight.

Phillip earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Environmental Horticulture at the University of Florida in Gainesville and is an American Orchid Society Senior Judge.

Professionally, Phillip has worked for two major orchid production nurseries in Central Florida as a grower and grower/manager. In 2013 he formed his own business, Bredren Orchids, to facilitate the small-scale sale of some of the more unique Phalaenopsis and Broughtonia species and hybrids he grows and breeds. Since 2017 he has managed Bredren Orchids full time with the generous help of his wife, Liz.

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