After laying the UVs out in the Texture Editor I end up with the result below. You will understand later why I decided to layout the UVs this way.
Click image for larger version.
At this time I decided to put the Tree Trunk onto its own layer so that when I am creating the leaves I don't have to worry about messing up the work I have already done. Make sure you can see your layers and create a new layer, make it a reference layer and then Right Click to Add Selected Objects in order to add your Trunk.
Click image for larger version.
Now we are going to create the Stem for the leaf, I decided to go with a Cone because I wanted depth to the stem, not just a plane, but I didn't want too much geometry so that animating later won't be a burden. Click on the options box next to Cone.
