I'm in coastal southern California. I am a "What can I get away with?" grower, it turns out that I can get away with a lot. Winter temps don't go much below 40F. (An occasional dip into the mid 30's but then days warm up into the 60s F) Turns out that there are lots of orchids that will put up with that amount of winter chill. (most Catts, most Oncidiums, some Vandas, pleurothallids of course, and the ubiquitous Cymbidiums) "Rain" comes out of a hose. So in looking at what what works in other places, the main difference is temperature... once nights get above about 55 deg F, those regional differences are not so important. Everybody can grow outside. But if you're still getting down to freezing, forget about the calendar, you still need to protect the plants.
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