The zones are Relatively accurate. This a very geologically diverse state, as is all of the west coast. As the advertising says, you can go surfing in the morning and snowboarding in the afternoon. As far as plants are concerned, it depends on how far from the coast, top or bottom of the hill. etc. I'm in a delta, 10 miles from the ocean, but near the mouth of the Santa Ana canyon, so all bets are off. We get the ocean influence (usually) in the evenings, but the desert winds, especially in spring and fall. Also, we are just under the curve on the map, so the northern storms tend to not make the curve, they go straight south and miss us., and we're too far North for the tropical storms. I refer to this as a coastal desert. Record breaking rainfall this year...20", and we won't get any more before Oct. Very confusing to garden in. Orchids do great along the coast, but you can't grow a tomato there. I always push the zones to the max. One year the avocado does well, the next the peach does well. I have a few iris, but I really don't have room for them, so they don't do well for me, because they're to crowded, as is everything in my garden. It's tough trying to grow an acres worth of plants in a mobile home park!
