There is a joke amongst Orchidiots that you can only be called an expert at the art of Orchid keeping if you have killed your share of said plants. After all, how else can you learn which ones survive and thrive under your care, or not!!
Growing Orchids for a few years and losing quite a few along the way, a friend and I visited a large Orchid nursery not too far from us. Going through greenhouse after greenhouse of gorgeous Orchids, many in bloom, I realized I was starting to recognize a lot of Orchids and their names by now and remarked cheerfully: "I must be getting better at this, I killed this one, that one and this one over here and that one......" My friend was amused if I remember correctly!
