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I have about two year old avocado that doesn't seem to be doing that well. It grows new leaves from time to time but the older leaves tend to turn brown at the same rate. It's an indoor avocado that is grown from seed.

It is also grown quite tall since it's not getting that much sun. I have a grow light over it but it doesn't seem enough. I'm also aware that I may be a bit late with pruning if I had wanted a shorter bushier avocado. Now, my thinking is that I can still prune it, but I don't know how much is okei, since all of it's leaves are on top. Would it be okei to cut it in half? Would it start growing again from the stub?

avocado

Risto Pärnapuu
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  • What's the final aim for this plant? It's not ever going to do well inside – Graham Chiu Mar 23 '18 at 00:03
  • The aim was to see if it is possible to grow an avocado plant indoors. I could try setting it outside for summer months and see how it holds on. Besides summer, I think it would die quite quickly outside in a Northern Europe climate. – Risto Pärnapuu Mar 23 '18 at 09:47

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Not sure about indoor avocados, and frankly I'm not sure your little guy is too happy. He looks a little lanky and skinny.

But I do have a few outdoor avo plants (can't really call them "trees" since they aren't very big yet.), and one thing I have noticed about them is that if you chop the tops of them off, or if they have a major die-back due to cold, they do have a will to bounce back. The tip of the cut stem, or the parts that have succumbed to the cold will get black and dead, but below that point, the stems will start sending out new shoots. In my experience, even a naked avocado stem is capable of sending out new growth if it is in good health. I even had one that I thought was dead and gone, but later it regenerated out of the ground, I guess from the un-dead remaining roots.

I agree with Graham Chiu though, your avocado would be happier outdoors. Is it possible to set it outside at least in the summer? Maybe in a little bit bigger pot even?

Lorel C.
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  • Thanks for the input. Perhaps I can cut in the middle then and hopefully it would restart from there and survive. I agree that it doesn't look that healthy. Since the climate here (Estonia) is quite harsh it has not been getting much sun (hence the grow lamp). I could try setting it outside for the summer and hope for the best. – Risto Pärnapuu Mar 23 '18 at 09:42
  • @Risto Pärnapuu, sorry I should have mentioned sooner that my avocados and I are in California, USA, latitude approx. 37 N. They are able to live outdoors in a very moderate climate, where the air temp very rarely gets down to freezing even over winter nights, ... just a "FYI". – Lorel C. Mar 23 '18 at 16:15