The American Orchid Society (AOS) 2026 Spring Conference and the Apopka International Spring Orchid Festival are set to arrive in the community next week. 

“Held in conjunction with the Apopka International Spring Orchid Festival, presented by Krull-Smith, this special gathering [the conference] brings together orchid experts, enthusiasts, and growers from across the orchid world,” said a March 6 American Orchid Society email. “Whether you are a seasoned grower or simply passionate about orchids, this event is not to be missed.” 

The conference will run from April 8 to April 11, with events split between the Hilton Garden Inn Apopka City Center, Northwest Orange County Improvement Association (NOCIA), and the Krull-Smith nursery. Events will include an orchid virus testing hands-on workshop,presentations on a variety of orchids, an “Orchid Paradise” gala, orchid judging, and more. 

“Usually, you always have to have at least three judges per team, and they’re going to go ahead and look at a flower and evaluate it compared to either the parents or other of the same hybrids or species that have been awarded to build toward that fuller, rounder, deeper color and to make guidelines for improving the orchid world in the future,” said Julien Baruch, sales manager at Krull-Smith and accredited AOS judge.  

In addition to judging orchids, Baruch will share a presentation at the conference on Bulbophyllum, according to the AOS website.  

“Bulbophyllum is not a very well-known group of orchids,” Baruch said. “It is, though, the largest group of orchids in the entire world, so they’re really fun. There’s a huge amount of variety, and I’m doing an introduction to tell people about different species that they could find and also teach them how to grow them.” 

Baruch is also organizing and marketing the festival, which will run 9 a.m.-5 p.m. April 10-12 at Krull-Smith. 

“We’ve got vendors literally flying in from Japan,” he said. “You’ve got some from Colombia, from South Africa, Brazil, Taiwan. You’ve got ones from Hawaii, California, North Carolina — so literally, all over the world and all over the country —coming in for this festival.” 

Baruch said the festival will primarily focus on vendors that also serve as breeders. 

“The number of breeders for orchids in the United States has dropped significantly, especially since the 2000s, because you had a lot of the people that were breeding getting out-competed by stuff that can come in a lot cheaper from Asia,” he said. “Anybody can go ahead and buy and resell plants they bought from overseas, but people that go ahead and actually make their own hybrids and breed are very important to the orchid world.” 

Baruch enjoys watching guests of all ages discover the diversity of orchids at each festival.

“There’s a group of plants that, if you touch the trigger on it, it’ll actually spit the pollen at you,” he said. “Kids love that. They’ll go through and start poking at it, and they just get shot at, and they freak out about it. It’s the funniest thing you’ll see.” 

In addition to noting orchids’ diversity, Baruch also mentioned that orchids are relatively easy to take care of, making them ideal beginner plants. 

“One of the biggest tips I always tell people, especially if the orchids are in moss, you can grab one of those little bamboo skewers and stick it right through the middle of that pot,” he said. “Whenever you go check on it, take it out. If it’s still wet, you leave it alone. If it’s almost dry, that’s when you water it, and that’ll make it so that you really get that wet-dry cycle.” 

Festival admission and parking is free. Although the full registration package for the conference is sold out, a variety of other ticket types are still available on the AOS website, beginning at $20.