Plumeria

A Beautiful sunny morning (a rare occurrence this time of year). Irazu and Turrialba volcanoes clear in the east. Ate breakfast on the porch, listened to "Weekend Edition," and watched small planes from airport in Pavas head out to the hinterlands.

Plumeria rubra -- Today I finished the project of improving soil around the plumeria behind the guesthouse. This involved removing the red clay and replacing it with a sandy loam with plenty of organic material, and digging a small drainage ditch on the downhill side. I had planted the plumeria in April when the rains started. I knew it needed good drainage, but did not have the energy to dig an adequate size hole, so I planted it on a fairly steep slope and made a hole 18" wide X 12" deep, which I later realized was not nearly large enough, given the fact that the hillside was solid red clay. The plumeria (about a foot tall) sprouted new leaves and seemed to be doing fairly well. Today, as I was working on enlarging the hole I accidentally bumped the tree and it toppled over. IT HAD NO ROOTS!!! I dug around and found a cluster of 8 big, fat white grubs. The tree still seems to be doing well, despite its lack of roots. At least the grubs are gone now and it has some good loamy soil with adequate drainage. Plumeria is one of my favorite tropical trees and I will give it plenty of TLC in hopes one day I will be able to smell its wonderfully fragrant blossoms.

Corn -- In preparation for next week's planting I dug up the raised bed with a "machete de suelo" and looked for grubs. Only found one, which surprised me because I thought I had a grub infestation. Go figure.

Grass -- By midmorning the sun had dried the grass, so I took advantage to cut various sections.

Weather -- Sunny morning; cloudy by midday; light rains began with thunder at 2 p.m.; High - 71, low - 67.

Happy gardening!