January 2022: The Birding Issue

Page 76

OUT & ABOUT DISCOVERIES

Trimming for the Spirit GILBERT CANTU AND THE ART OF BONSAI BY: MARK GREGORY LOPEZ PHOTOS BY: RACHEL BENAVIDES

T

he climate in Corpus Christi can beat down on some plants, make them bend their backs away from the sun, turn toward the soil, and lay down forever. But some plants thrive; some find solace within the Coastal Bend. Among these is the portulacaria afra, or little jade bonsai. Local graphic designer and painter Gilbert Cantu knows a thing or two about this, as he’s added “bonsai expert” to his list of talents—hence the creation of his Little Jade Bonsai blog and its accompanying YouTube channel. “I got started 19 years ago, when my wife was pregnant with our daughter,” Cantu said. “We went to Target, back when Target actually had a garden center, and I saw a bonsai tree, a juniper, and I thought, ‘I wanna try that.’ I think we’d just watched The Karate Kid. “I don’t know, I caught the bonsai bug, man,” Cantu continued. “I just became so interested in it, started reading about them, started ordering all these trees, different species off of eBay. I became addicted.” Within a month or two, Cantu had accumulated around 50 trees, and within the next month, he’d killed every single one of them—except, that is, for the jade. “I thought, ‘If I can keep this one alive, maybe I’m doing something right. Maybe I should focus on that species.’” That focus shifted into not only becoming adept at growing and trimming the little trees, but also in sharing his journey across multiple platforms, both virtually and in person.

This particular tree is one of Cantu’s oldest. At 35 years old, he lovingly refers to it as “The Godfather.”

76 The Bend


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