Where I live in inland south east Queensland Australia, conditions are very similar, my last girlfriend was from Newport California & her patients in Carlsbad. You have far less rain fall through out the year than is but we can experience droughts that simulate that sometimes. Your soil is often iron deficient from what I have seen so far. Our soil through out Australia is very phosphorus deficient so many of our native plants are not able to stand it. Our general humidity is much higher through out the year too temperature is similar, pretty warm all year. We do get cold spikes though. Steven Sent from my iPhone