Paige, my garden is in a very cool microclimate. I'll bet our growing conditions are not that different. Randall, I lived in San Leandro for a few years. I could not get the native Liliums to grow there, and I tried everything. It was even worse in pots. And the slugs were brutal. They grow beautiful trumpet lily species at Quarry Hill Botanic Garden in the Sonoma Valley. Maybe you should try them. This guy is in Richmond, and says he can grow L. parryi in pots: http://drystonegarden.com/index.php/tag/… There are some Forest Service people that are building up the L. parryi population in the Idyllwild area. They've created a local festival around it: http://twitter.com/#!/LemonLilyFest