This is one of my favorite trees in our yard. I planted it spring of 2010 and it was about 6" tall. I got it from Arborday. Last fall I estimated its height as 26 feet!! Its first year had 48" growth, second was about the same, third year had 7' of growth. This tree is an amazing grower. I'm excited every year to see how much it will grow. It definitely needs to be on its own, though. I've seen others in the area where it is planted near other trees, and they don't do so well. It's not a very good competitor. I've had no problems with it so far. It's pretty deep rooted as I have a garden underneath it. I dig in the soil frequently to plant things and I don't usually hit roots bigger than 1/8" or so. In the fall it turns a nice bronze color and the leaves are good compost for the garden soil below. It does drop sticks frequently, but it really hasn't been a problem so far, and even if it is, it's still worth it for this beautiful tree. Ours is sort of close to our house, but I'm not worried because none of the branches will get very large like other trees, so damage to the house is of no worry to me from this one. The only pests that like it are Japanese Beetles in the summer. They only like the freshest of leaves, though.