Question
QUESTION: i got an issue. well, i got the secrets e-book and have been looking through it a lot (i think i might be addicted to it...) and i decided to go with the "go fetch, spike" and i said i wanted to see which plants i could grow outdoors. i said i live in a warm temperate climate (guess that is trou because there are frozts in winter and night temperature is below 13C? 55F?, the problem is that the temperature during the day can (often) get as high as 25C?77F? and i was wondering if i could acctually grow venus flytraps and other temperates outside year roud (without the use of the refrigerator)

thank you

ANSWER: Hi Alonso,

Thank you for reading our e-book!  We're currently in the process of creating the second edition, which will contain lots more information.

I take it that you live in what we term zone 9 since you experience some frost during winter and your nighttime temperature is below 55癋.  These conditions are sufficient to inducing winter dormancy.  The daytime temperatures are a bit warm, but the occasional winter frost will slow down the plant enough.  

We have many customers in zone 9, such as in Los Angeles, and they've been quite successful overwintering their plants outdoors.  So if your winter conditions are similar to that of Los Angeles, you should do just fine.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: well, that last thing is my doubt - i dont know LA, I live in queretaro (about 2 hra of mexico city), this last winter there were say 3 frozts? (thanks to the global warming)... and I was thinking that because it is too far south, the climate was a zone 10 (I don't understand too well the zone ratings, however)... I was thinking that may be in one of your future e-books you could and a zone map of different countries if possible, I know it probably must have taken you a lot of time and persistance to get it, but it would probably make it much easier for many CP growers,

thank you very much for reading and for your answer,

Alonso

Answer
The zone map was created by the United States Department of Agriculture.  It's primarily a tool for US farmers to gauge what type of crops to grow and how long the growing season lasts.  Home gardeners adapted the map to help them determine what type of plants they can grow outdoors.  

It would be a huge undertaking for us to create a zone map for the entire world.  The most we can do for growers in other countries is to try to compare their climate to the closest approximation to a US city.  You can visit the USDA map on our main website:
http://www.cobraplant.com/caresheets

Look at the lowest recorded temperatures and match up the zone to what best describes the climate in your area.  Mexico City is situated at a much higher elevation, than the coastal towns in your country, so at least we know that it's not a true tropical climate.  Based on that information you can simply make the necessary adjustments to for proper winter care.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin