In San Diego definatly put it in the ground-they do BEAUTIFULLY there. They do very well in full sun here in Phoenix so it won't have any problem with full sun over in San Diego. Make sure you plant a Hong Kong Orchid and not the regular Orchid tree since the the Hong Kong has more beautiful flowers-about twice the size of the regular ones, and they dont' produce seed pods. The trees also have a longer blooming period. Here the bloom from around Christmas to Easter and sometimes later. They are a gorgeous tree that has recently become very popular with landscapers over here-in a few years the whole city will be covered with them and Jacarandas!!