Those are not branches that emerged on your 3' whip - those are the rachis or leaf petioles and yes, they will fall off this fall. In fact, this tree can generate quite a lot of litter as it matures. This tree is rather well known for being 'branchless' until it develops some age and size. You may even need to do a little pruning in its early years to stimulate branch development. At 3' - really little more than a seedling - I would not expect to see any branching for several years. And in Ken's defense, there is nothing wrong about asking questions but a great many of us, especially of the older generation before the days of the Internet and instant knowledge access, did learn most of what we know about gardening by trial and error. We planted something and hoped for the best. Odds are very good that's all that needed to be done, other than watering as nature required. Plants are a lot tougher and more durable, even in their infant stages, than most of us consider. A great many manage just fine with minimal human intervention ever. As Ken is fond of saying, these aren't kids - they don't need to be babied, or fed or coddled in cold weather. Stick 'em in the ground, water 'em and let 'em do their thing.

My wood burning days are behind me, too much mess for our likes. There are pluses and minuses. A good tight stove will not interfere with air quality in your home. Outside is another matter. My wife has had lung issues since she was a child, when she was outside depending on the wind direction and barometric pressure she did complain that it did effect her breathing. It only took her once to mention that and I stopped hauling in wood. As well my insurance rates were going to go up 25% because of the stove. Keeping mice out of the woodpile was an issue as well. Snakes in the summer loved the stacked wood. She hates bugs and I had to check each and every piece I brought into the home, every one. Oak is your best bet, make sure anything you choose is hardwood and is seasoned at least one full year. You should have at least 2 piles, this years and next years. Not knowing what the heat loss on your home is you will need to learn what you will be using annually. We had more cold weather this week than any year I can remember. I would never use wood as a primary source unless I had a wood lot to harvest from. Wood can get expensive these days as the transportation costs never go down. You will know after one winter if it's worth all the work associated with wood burning as a primary source of heat and If you did indeed save on fuel costs when all costs are taken into consideration. Your time must be worth something. Good luck. Edit, I apologize I didn't answer your question. The last stove we had was a Regency and never had an issue. One broken glass I replaced as it was my fault. Robax glass isn't cheap. A 12" square piece was around $125.00. Plus the packing. This post was edited by SouthernCanuck on Fri, Jan 10, 14 at 2:12

Thank you everyone for your comments! I have been researching and looking at them in stores and just an hour ago made a purchase and now will wait on delivery and installation next week. Here was my process: With comments and online review I had pretty much narrowed it down to Bosch or Miele, but also looked at KitchenAid to have more options. Miele- there was no one that sold it in town and only one store in the geographic area- it was 30 min away. They did not have prices on their website. I pretty much ruled this one out because online prices were hundreds more than the Bosch and KA and if it needed repairs reports of repairs were very high priced and hard to get service and or parts. Bosch- I thought that this was the one. Looked at models at Lowes and at Sears Hometown Appliance store. Was debating if I wanted the 500 series or pay $100 more to get the 800 series. Today, dragged my husband with me to shop and make a final decision. Went for the first time to a local Mom & Pop appliance store. Looking strictly at KA, since they do not carry Bosch. They had a good selection, the KA were very sturdy shelves, had the third rack, and were quiet. They could order it in white, with recessed handle rather than the bar. I brought our dishes and they all fit. Only downside is the third rack is not set up to hold silverware like the Bosch. They had a cheaper installation fee than Lowes and also do service in house, no need to call an 800 number and hope to get an actual human on the line. Left there and went to Lowes to double check the Bosch. Every rack on the 2 Boschs in the store were broken- one of them just broken since I had looked at them 2 days ago. That was problematic. Also, our dishes did not fit all the tines. And, the tines were tilted so our plates fit funny even in the spaces that they fit. Our cereal bowls did not work at all. We have Fiesta dinnerware for reference. We use the 9" buffet plate and the small bowl- not even the large/regular sized stuff. That decided us- KA it will be! We went back to the local store and couldn't be more happy to buy from them. They had excellent customer service. We are getting the recessed handle because in a galley kitchen I do not want to be catching my hip on the large, industrial style handle they have. Also, I like the controls on the front so that I can see when the machine is on. I am excited to have the option of heated dry if I want and also that I won't have to worry about the "stinky" smell that many Bosch reviews mentioned. No KA reviews mentioned any bad smells. I would have liked to have the silverware on the top third rack, but I am used to baskets so it won't be a big deal. Putting lids and other items on the top rack might even be more useful in the long run. I will let everyone know how it works once we get it in!

Laughable! I'm so glad to hear your thoughts:) . Especially about the fridge drop zone since I've never had a french door unit. Regarding your concerns which are the exact same as mine! 1. I don't know, which is one reason why we put the two 18" W x 15" D pantry cabs next to the fridge and another 18" w x 24" D by the wall ovens. Even with those I think I will need more for bulk things and less frequently used items but I'm still keen on your idea about two closets that I could build on the back Morning Room wall. It would require a hike around the peninsula, but hopefully that would be not often and still much closer than the trip I make to the basement now. Plus - it's pretty! 2. I pushed my current island to where the peninsula would be last week. I actually did it out of frustration of not being able to find a good layout! DH and I were shocked that we really like how it opens up the area in front of the basement door. It also had the unexpected benefit of making the kitchen feel bigger. Those two things coupled with the fact that I get better storage, better appliances, better prep space and better light in the kitchen are helping me to deal with the fact that I don't like how far the table is around the horn. But, I have figured out that it's actually easy to push food and dishes across the counter towards the table. Then you don't actually have to walk around carrying things. And vice versa for clean-up. Most meals it's just me and the 3 kids so we can do those on the peninsula. For dinner, we may keep the kids at the peninsula while we eat at the table so we can actually finish a conversation....ha!