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Hello everyone, My name is Sebastián Vieira, and I’m writing from Colombia. I’m a naturalist and currently the Executive Director of Salvamontes Colombia, a non-profit organization focused on the conservation and restoration of threatened species and their habitats, mainly through the creation and long-term care of private natural reserves. Although I didn’t come to conservation through a formal biology track ( I originally studied and worked as an engineer and spent many years working in telecommunications ), my interest in plants and the natural world has been with me for as long as I can remember. Over time, that curiosity slowly turned into field work, conservation projects, nature photography, and taxonomic research, especially on Pleurothallid orchids. It was that long, hands-on relationship with nature that lead me to be a co-founder of Salvamontes, and nowadays, its leader. Andy Hurwitz invited to come and participate in PalmTalk, and share with everyone here our amazing story, so it’s really nice to finally introduce SalvaMontes and our work here, especially thanks to the invitation from the International Palm Society, whose support has been fundamental for one of the projects I care most deeply about. That project is the Sabinaria Natural Reserve, located in the Darién region of northwestern Colombia, close to the border with Panama. This is an incredibly rich rainforest area, still poorly studied, and it happens to be the only place on Earth where the striking palm Sabinaria magnifica is found. A few years ago, while visiting the area, it became clear that much of the known habitat of Sabinaria magnifica was privately owned and increasingly exposed to deforestation and land-use change. Given how limited the species’ distribution is, it doesn’t take much habitat loss to create serious long-term risks. With that in mind and with crucial support from the International Palm Society, we were able to acquire and legally protect 50 hectares of tropical rainforest, securing what we believe is a meaningful portion of the global habitat and population of Sabinaria magnifica. Today, that forest is permanently protected as a private natural reserve. What makes this especially rewarding is that Sabinaria magnifica also works as an umbrella species. By protecting its habitat, we’re also conserving many other threatened organisms that depend on the same intact forest. This includes species like the critically endangered harlequin frog Atelopus fronterizo and the rare tree Magnolia sambuensis, along with many other plants and animals that are still little known. For us, Sabinaria is much more than a single-species project. It reflects a broader way of doing conservation: protecting habitat first, learning directly from the field, working with local communities, and committing to long-term stewardship rather than short-term interventions. I’m really glad to be here and look forward to learning from all of you, sharing updates from the field, and exchanging ideas about palms and their conservation around the world. I am also sharing some images showing the Sabinaria palm and its natural habitat. Finally, it is very important to thank and recognize the important support and participation of biologists Norman Echavarría, Norberto López, Saul Hoyos, Gloria Galeano and Rodrigo Bernal. Without them this project would not be a reality. PS: I will come back soon with additional information and images. Warm regards from Colombia, Sebastián Salvamontes Colombia

Thank you for the heads up. I just looked up what you're talking about and had no idea. I've been using that site for many years, never again! Hoping everyone stays safe through this storm, it's going to ravage much of the South. We're hunkered down now here in Texas.

People are saying this will be snowmageddon 2010 (2026 edition) and yeah it will be. Our snow record is on track to break the record 13.3 inches set in the 1800’s!!! At least 7 days below freezing which is.. very not normal not even a once every 5 winter thing this will be insane. Now things can change but this isn’t the type of temps to change.

Oof. But yeah that’s good man .4-5 inches is still oooof.

Yes, they're not very leaf hardy but if it stays above 25°F it will recover - at least in Texas. Might not like extended freezing temperatures - they're usually less than 12 hours in south Texas.

The world needs such conservationists like yourself. Great pictures, keep up the good work. Iam doing my bit by growing as many as I can!

You have a nice A. Cunninghamiana there by the looks of it. Harry

One of our friends in the neighborhood had a large Butia in his garden which I photographed from a side street to his yard and posted a couple of times on this website. We see the South American Palm weevil taking down plenty of Canary Island Date Palms along with a few other species, but not nearly as frequently do they seem to attack the other species from South America. It is a big deal when we see a Jubea succomb to them, and given the number of Jubea's in my area, it was unusual to see this one get hit. When I saw it was headless a couple of weeks ago, I knew I wanted to ask the neighbor the next time I saw him. This morning I finally got the opportunity to ask as we crossed paths walking our dogs. He moved into the house a little less than 50 years ago, and the palm was large back at that time he told me. He was having it trimmed, when his landscaper called him out to give him the bad news. While it wasn't showing the classic signs of a palm weevil attack on a CIDP yet, it was completely infested in the crown. He was convinced to leave a portion of the trunk after removal of the crown and a significant amount of the top of the trunk. He is contemplating having the trunk carved since it was part of their backyard life all these years. I encouraged him to have it carved and will share photos if he does. Before some of my palms got large, I could see his house from my back deck as I looked up the hill to the east. His neighbor's tall Canary Island Date Palm is long since gone. It is sad to see so many beautiful palms die. I know we will lose more, I just hope that their diet remains focused on CIDP and the other genra remain the exceptions. The photo from a few years ago I have posted doesn't show the base of the palm which was obscured by the shrubs along the sidestreet, but it was one of the tallest Butia's I personally have seen in Southern California.

That's scary. I'll be praying for everyone's safety in the area

Thanks so much. I have everything protected and a generator. We are forecast to get .4-.5 inch ice as of last I saw

I take your "30s" over mid 10s anytime my friend. We're going to get hit hard up here. Hard freeze for multiple days in my forecast. Let's see what's left after the party.

Looks like low/mid-30's here in Brownsville, which sucks because I hate the cold but isn't going to damage anything I have if it warms up during the day. If we had like last year where it was 33F-38F for three straight days and then a dip to 28F one night, that made a couple things sad. My coconut will go unprotected but it's in a super sheltered spot so it should be fine. If we get a really bad frost - which I'm not expecting - my Chamaedora cataractarum will probably have some leaf burn. Up at the property in Laredo they're saying 27F-28F. Again, not terrible, but still a freeze.

I finally thought to check out that palm I spotted during Summer. It would seem to be a Ravenea (Majesty palm). The coldest we've dropped so far is 29°F, so the frost has burnt it badly.

Hey reminder yall, inaccuweather don’t use it!!! Just DONT! They are very very inaccurate use lots of computers models in forecasts, and basically broke the law with their illegal hurricane forecast tracks saying they were more accurate than official info etc etc. Bad company. On the server I’m on you will get banned for posting inaccuweather stuff.

Nice day today so I thought I'd snap a pic of my Needle palm. Top down view.

David Reimer predicts 15 to 17f for San Antonio. 15 means probably 14/13f in my area on the NE side . My yard is going to get nuked .

NWS now forecasting 19F for Monday night.

Yep time for great compost heap in the sky iam afraid. Fear not we have all had a palm or two succumb to the compost heap. Dont give up palms are one the greatest garden sentinels around, get it right and your dream of a paradise is eternal.

A few cones around the yard, Z. Stevensonii male cone start to shed pollen. Maturing Z. inermis cones that were pollinated about a year ago. Z. Fairchildiana male cones close to opening. Z. variegata disintegrating cone. Male Z. Splendens cones starting to shed pollen which is nice because the female cones are probably going to start to open in a few weeks. And last is an unknown cycas cone opening up.

Trunking Rzedowskii $695 trunking Edule $450 Trunking Spinulosum $450 Multi Trunking Spinulosum $595 1 1/2 ft trunk Spinulosum $125 Palma Sola big Caudex 12 pups $200 Edule big Caudex 9+ pups $150 all plants are OBO

24 hour lows look at the difference north vs south of Lake P !! 30s deep into Pinellas Sudden dip into the 40s is probably enough to shock things like soursop and breadfruit into leaf drop