How do you know when you are not a "newbie" anymore?
 

This question just occurred to me as I was watering my orchids.

I have about 75 orchids now. I tell my family I have "about 50" so I hope this is not stretching the truth too much. I have had the pleasure of reblooming quite a few phals and oncidiums. I have one cattleya that is reblooming for the third time and I am happy to think there are three buds coming out of that sheath. I just rebloomed my first Maudiae paph and I can now see a bud on my Paph. delenatii alba. I have two new growths on my first cymbidium, whether they are spikes or new growth time will tell. Today, first time since I have had the plant! a spike on my Encyclia cordigera!!!

So...what comes after "newbie"? And do I qualify?

In rapidly progressing cases, the newbie may become increasingly vague about how many orchids there are and when/how they got there. Orchid 'smuggling' -- plants left in the car until no one is there to see them unloaded-- is not uncommon. Rationalization ramps up (just one more). Thoughts of orchids are frequent, and preoccupy the now fully converted orchid addict. :evil:

OH NO! So you think you go right from "newbie" to "addict" ?! What a slippery slope! I DO have all the symptoms you described, though. Hmmmmm

Phalaenopsis, the gateway drug.

You may be comfortable with those you have now but you are a newbie for each new one. And there are tens of thousands out there.

When do you stop being a newbie?
When you grow well all the orchids you own and you stop buying orchids that you have never before grown. :)

Occasionally you start to develop extra sensory perception, other times it's full on synesthesia. Some people report small, light-colored spots showing up on their ankles, and the spots smell faintly of goat's cheese. The most common symptoms though are persistent low grade fever and resistance to lemur attacks.

Who wants to resist cute bouncy lemurs?:lol:

I do not feel like an expert, but I no longer feel like a newbie. I have been growing for about 5 years. I think I started to feel like less of a newbie when I was able to not just parrot advice I saw, but to hear a question and really be able to give answers that could and HAD worked for me. Also, when I was able to keep my plants healthy and happy and to know which plants just won't do well for me with what I could give them. This year, I have several plants blooming for the first time and had a nodosa with 14 spikes and a catt with 5 spikes this year (bought it last year with 2). I feel like I am doing something right and do not have to research every thing before I try it.

I am sort of a newbie all over again because this is the first year I am growing under lights. Even after doing a ton of research, I had to ask all kinds of questions when I decided to grow under lights and when I first set them up.
There is also quite a bit that separates me from the experts. I am not certain I will ever be able to pronounce the Latin orchid names--which is pretty bad since I grow mostly species and primary hybrids. If given the choice between an orchid that is award quality and one that I, personally, prefer, I will buy the one I personally prefer every time. Yep. And there are still many orchids of which I know almost nothing. I just bought a few. :|

I feel I am still a 'newbie' since there are so many wonderful things I need to know about orchids and learn about culture and growing it.
The moment you admit to yourself that you are an 'expert' then that is the time you start to decay and rot.