The tree is lovely, and you can arrange the branches in any manner you like. Two things keep me from giving it five stars. First, the pot is way too small - it is not the size depicted. It is much smaller so it will fit in the long, narrow box the tree arrives in. Even in a bigger pot it is unsteady - I will have to put it in a much larger pot with rocks and moss. Secondly, the top of the tree is skimpy - the trunk just ends abruptly and you have to bend the branches to cover that up. All in all it was a good deal for the $40+ paid for it, pot and treetop notwithstanding. We put clear mini lights up the trunk and on the tree and it looks pretty, warm and inviting.