Avocado trees can grow up to 40 meters high if you let them, making them typical representatives of their tropical homeland. For practical reasons, plantation trees – similar to our local fruit trees – are cut to a maximum of 15 meters. Of course, home-grown avocados shouldn't grow that tall, otherwise they'll be beyond the scope of living rooms and greenhouses. We'll show you how to properly cut back an avocado.
How do I cut back an avocado correctly?
To properly prune an avocado, use sharp scissors and simply remove the top of the plant with the top leaves. This encourages side shoots and allows the plant to grow bushier. Cutting back is useful from around three months of age.
Why is pruning so important?
Strictly speaking, you wouldn't have to prune your avocado. However, the space in apartments is very limited - especially at height - and avocado plants tend to shoot up and hardly branch, especially when they are young. That's why it's advisable to cut the top of the avocado so that more side shoots form and the plant becomes bushier - instead of just growing into a pencil-thin stem with a few leaves on it. When you specifically cut your plant is entirely up to your taste and wishes. Cutting back is basically possible at any height, depending on how you want to grow your plant.
Cut back the avocado properly
To prune your avocado, all you need is a pair of nail scissors or rose scissors if you have them. To do this, you simply snap off the top of the plant with the top leaves. Then spray the remaining leaves of your avocado with room temperature water. It is best to combine cutting back the plant with repotting it in a larger pot, which usually happens towards the end of winter. Very young plants do not need to be trimmed; this only becomes necessary when they are around three months old or older. The timing you choose also depends on how tall you want your avocado to grow.
This is what you need:
- an avocado plant with several shoots (from around the age of three to six months)
- sharp scissors (ideally rose or nail scissors)
Tips & Tricks
You don't need to throw away the cut top of your avocado - instead, you can grow a new tree from this cutting.
