"What temperatures do you have psroseguy?"
We garden in an extreme microclimate. This region of California is described as a, "rain shadow desert". I don't think it would an exaggeration to say it's one of the warmest and driest regions on the planet. We are hotter and drier than Arizona. I'll plagiarize Wikipedia here for expediency.
"Palm Springs has a hot desert climate, with over 300 days of sunshine and around 4.83 inches (122.7 mm) of rain annually.[96] The winter months are warm, with a majority of days reaching 70 °F (21 °C) and in January and February days often see temperatures of 80 °F (27 °C) and on occasion reach over 90 °F (32 °C), while, on average, there are 17 nights annually dipping to or below 40 °F (4 °C);[96] freezing temperatures occur in less than half of years. The lowest temperature recorded is 19 °F (−7 °C), on January 22, 1937.[97] Summer often sees daytime temperatures above 110 °F (43 °C) coupled with warm overnight lows remaining above 80 °F (27 °C). The mean annual temperature is 74.6 °F (23.7 °C). There are 180 days with a high reaching 90 °F (32 °C), and 100 °F (38 °C) can be seen on 116 days.[96] The highest temperature on record in Palm Springs is 123 °F (51 °C), most recently achieved on July 28 and 29, 1995.[98]"
It's not unusual for us to experience days or even weeks of temps between 45 and 51 degrees C. This said, I generally love it here. Summer nights are glorious and the Winters are legendary. We're largely a resort destination. Consequently, Summer shade is important and water conservation is important.
I could no doubt succeed with chamaedryoides were I willing to coddle it a bit more. I confess to largely being a lazy gardener at this point. My emphasis switched to roses years ago. I started as a child sowing seeds of annuals and collecting cactus and succulents. I used to breed birds and dogs but find losing them over time is too heartbreaking.
