I can't imagine a less suitable plant for a desert planting! It will always require regular routine irrigation to survive and your alkaline soil and water conditions will not be to its liking, hence the chlorosis. And time will have no bearing on sun tolerance, either. I'd be highly inclined to cut my losses and replant with something more appropriate to your location and climate. Rather than plant shopping at a box store - always a risk for hardiness/suitability - visit a better retail garden center in your area and see what they suggest. Evergreen drought tolerance would top my list of requirements. Off the top of my head, oleander, hopbush (Dodonaea viscosa) or Arizona rosewood (Vauqualinia californica) come to mind but upright juniper or Italian cypress could work also. But forget the photinia - a very poor choice for your situation.

Pharaoh - after reading all the replies I'm convinced I'm way under watering. So I hope to correct that starting this week. Thank you! Lonnie - that's pretty hot! But we're not much far behind sometimes in temps. I guess my micro-climate is quite different from other S CA locations. I wish I have dappled shade after 2pm because our afternoon sun is so intense! :( Hopefuly watering more will help. Beachplant - I only have a few pots in the gritty mix. I had only tried it once and it was too much physical labor for me to handle so I stopped. Those in the gritty mix get watered every 2-3 days. The ones in 1 gallons are watered twice a week. It's the 5 Gal (which most of my plumeria are in) and up that get watered once a week. So I will have to increase watering accordingly. Will report the results later. Thanks!

Sunburn for sure. Plants from a hot house burn easily when they go out into the dry, hot local air. The plant will be ok. Just put it under a larger plant to filter the sun for a week or so and ease it out into the full sun. Bill

Well, if it's OK in your zone to leave it out for the season then I would just put it in a more shaded area, dappled sun would be fine too and the plant will send up new leaves to replace the sunburned leaves. I would leave the burned leaves on until they start to look crispy and I think your plant will be just fine in a few weeks. This happens to me sometimes when I first put my plants out for the summer and they have a lot of leaves, they always grow more eventually if everything else is alright with the plant. Donna