Hi Ano, I have some very small (American) persimmon seedlings. You are welcome to some; bear in mind that most persimmons require both a male and a female closeby for pollination and fruit production. So about 50% chance of that with 3 seedlings, sex unknown. However: the cultivar 'Meader' is unusual in that it is parthenocarpic -- it sets large fruit, with a few sterile seeds generally, *without* a pollinator. So that might be worth the additional time and expense to procure? Also note that many opinions exist as to the best-tasting American persimmon; I considered putting in a 'Prok' also but decided to use the space for Chinese mulberries instead. Another cheap possible source: state university nurseries generally raise and sell a variety of trees, once-a year, bareroot, in the late autumn. These sales are usually not well publicized. -- Stan in Hamilton, NJ 609.731.3882

36" six burner range. Fit and finish seem very good to me. The stainless is nicely finished and the color (ours is cobalt blue) very nicely done, both on the front and on the sides. The oven is excellent. Very good dependable performance; excellent capacity; and the rolling rack is terrific. Pre-heating is not super-fast (maybe not for any large gas oven), so that's a consideration for some (and for some might prompt a second oven), but performance is very good. The broiler is great, IMO, although not huge (good-sized, but not huge). Installation and setup -- the shop did it. I didn't notice any special problems, but they did a nice job and, frankly, I wasn't about to haul that thing up the stairs myself. The gas line was there already, electric was fine, so only minor tweaks were needed for the gas hookup itself -- we had those handled, per spec, by a plumber in advance. Burners: I swapped the left-most burners front to rear, such that the two high-output burners are in the front right and rear left corners. I understand the reasoning behind the stock configuration, but in the end I felt that I'd prefer not to reach over a large pot or pan on high to get to the simmer/low-output burner. On balance, I'm glad we did the swap. The range -- the dynamic range on the burners, if you will -- is great. High heat is excellent for very high heat cooking, quick response, and also for things like getting a large pot to return quickly to a boil after you've added pasta. The intermediate burners are very versatile. All-in-all very pleased with burner performance from high to low. No experience with the griddle or the grill. We do have a griddle pan, which covers two burners, and which I consider very handy for certain things -- as a matter of personal preference, I favored the six burners with a griddle pan handy (and a grill just the other side of the kitchen's sliding glass door), but that's personal preference, and balance of cooking interests, so I'm sorry that I cannot say anything about the griddle or grill options. So, yeah, just one guy's experience, and to the best of my knowledge no major campaign candidates endorse this message, but, sure, I'd buy it again.

We had a service person out this morning to look at our Bluestar oven door. After a 15 second inspection (a.k.a. opening it once) he told us that it was supposed to work this way, and even called the flopping open a "feature." I have used another Bluestar and the door did not do this, nor did the door on this oven do this when first installed. So, apparently, it's a late-appearing "feature." My incredulity (and sarcasm) stems from several facts, not the least of which that this is the exact same service person who told me, 10 months ago now, that the Bluestar's simmer burner was "not designed for a low flame" and that the burners were "made by Wolf, only cheaper"--leaving my house after doing absolutely nothing about adjusting the burners. Eight months and much begging on our part later he returned, with a Bluestar manual this time, and adjusted the burners. But only after we'd proved to Bluestar, via a $40 service call from our gas company, that nothing was wrong with our gas pressure, and under pains that we'd be on the hook for a $250 service call if the service person found it was an "installation error." Also, I know for a fact that this man, the only service person Bluestar has ever sent out, has never seen a Bluestar other than mine. So, the problem--and this is what could pertain to other Bluestar owners, or potential owners--isn't that there aren't service people in our area (we haven't had problems finding multiple service people for other appliances) it's that 1) no one is familiar with this brand and 2) they won't work for what Bluestar pays them. I mention the latter because, when Mr. Bloodgood (former Bluestar service manager) couldn't find anyone other than the one-man company I described above to service my unit, I suggested the company that had fixed, promptly and efficiently, my Gaggeanu steam oven, also under warranty. After not hearing from Bluestar, I called the latter company myself and was told that Bluestar had contacted them but they wouldn't work for Bluestar's rates. I did not ask what they were, nor do I even know if they're unfair, but it does beg the question: How can I, or other potential customers, have any expectation of decent service if Bluestar insists on sending, again and again, people who have no idea what they're doing? It's not surprising, under those circumstances, that I've had dismal service and, therefore, a rather grim view of Bluestar in general. When you send out incompetent people, you really can't expect anything less. (The fact that anything at all was fixed, ever, is actually probably the surprising part.) Oh and, PS, my conversations with Mr. Bloodgood, which ended with the same service man returning last December, were that I had "maligned" this "very capable" service person and that I was "lucky" he was willing to return at all ... I apparently had "maligned" him by telling Mr. Bloodgood, exactly what he'd actually done/said. (The same service man wouldn't service my vent hood because it was on a dimmer, which he said voided the warranty ... Until I went online and pulled up the vent hood specs and photos, that showed the company itself, Prestige, SELLS dimmer switches to run the fan and has them installed that way in EVERY SINGLE advertising photo in their brochure.) Well, back to this morning ... The end result is that we had my one-year-old demonstrate pulling the oven door down on his head and the service person finally deigned to look at it. He tightened (or did something to) the hinges and it seems to be working again, though the service person (for what his opinion is worth) warned us it would probably come loose again with use. So, basically, as long as we don't open the oven door it works, I asked him. He shrugged and left. For us, unfortunately, that describes the Bluestar service experience to date in a nutshell. So, I gotta' agree with "mcmann," not that I have Bluestar's "white glove service," and it does seem like a step in the right direction, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't ensure that you will have actual COMPETENT service, or service at all even, in your area. -Susan W.

Very disappointed with our ours. White uppers, what was sold as maple (but is actually a veneer) lowers. “Wood” finishes don’t match from one cabinet front to another. The finish is easily damaged on the “wood“ and the white looks cheap. Not at all equivalent to the price they charge. Our contractor: ”I don’t understand - this is supposed to be a high quality product.”