Don Newcomer, owner of Serra Gardens, a succulent specialty nursery that operated in Malibu for 25 years and will soon relocate south to Fallbrook for business reasons. Numerous succulents are native to the continent, and in the south the climate is similar to that of coastal and southern California. Aloe arborescens, native to South Africa, grows throughout Southern California; dense plantings of it rim the cliffs of coastal communities. California native plants are extraordinarily resilient to wildfires.