HelpfulGardener.com

Hello,

So my avocado has finally started to grow, and is just over 3 inches tall now.
I was told to cut the stem back to encourage it to grow more - should I do this, and how long should I wait before I do?

Thank you all in advance!

Wait until it's six or seven inches, so maybe 20-22 cm? Then cut it in half. Or even just the top third. Then you wait again and it will eventually grow. The idea of cutting it is so that it will branch out rather than growing to meter tall whip. Sometimes it doesn't work the first time and you may have to cut the newest shoot to try again.

If you only have the one, don’t cut it and find out how it grows. Give it plenty of light but not too much direct sunlight. Avocado will only grow single good leader for a while no matter how you keep cutting back, then once they reach a certain age, start branching in every direction imaginable. If you manage to get them to grow multiple branches, it slows down their growth because now nutrients/energy are divided.

Once they grow to a certain size, you will HAVE to cut them to get them to fit in the house....