daisy, i don't know which ones are more 'dry' tolerant. i've loved them since forever, and my avatar shows some i grew in the bay area. i was so sad when i learned i could not grow, japanese maples, tree peonies, japanese irises, ume, and bearded irises.
with some trepidations i added a few "no-no's", to my mostly tropical garden (when we moved almost 15 yr. ago.).
initially, i brought my collection of 15 potted japanese maples. they were mostly 6-7 year 2 -3 ' trees. all but 5 have perished. the ones that have hung on, are now about 4' tall that i keep heavily trimmed. they are slowly expiring, as they don't like the area, climate, and water.
i've tried bush and tree peonies here, they hate it. ume might grow, but in my tiny yard i don't really have much room for trees, so another crossed off the list.
however, in 2016, i started ordering bearded irises just to "try" some. i was gifted 10 from a dear friend in santa cruz, and thus began my collection. i started adding a few "others" including si's which did not live past a few months (have given up on them) and the ji's which i grew in pots for the first two years. then, i got braver placed them in the ground, and voila. but, let's just see how long they thrive? so you're on the journey of my saga as well.
