Question
QUESTION: not sure how old it is, but the darn thing has a bare spot in the middle of the plant, and then the top part grew into an L shape, very crooked plant, I don't understand about cutting it or stem cutting, it looks like two new branches at the bottom, then a big gap with nothing then the top part has lots of stems. what can I do about the middle part?
ANSWER: Michelle,

This is going to sound very drastic but cut the plant back to the bare spot in the middle of the plant. Use pruning shears and just cut it back even if ti leaves very few leaves on the plant then set it outdoors in full sun as long as the lowest temperature is above 50 degrees. Give it a dose of fertilizer and water it every other day and watch it grow. By the end of the summer it will be much larger and much fuller than it is now. It is really simple and you will end up with a much nicer plant. If you have any questions feel free to write again. Good luck.

Darlene

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: do you mean, leave it in the pot and cut off the top part?
what do I do with the top part? can I replant it or something?


Answer
Michelle,

Yes, I mean cut off the top part of the plant. You can cut the top part into 8-12 inch pieces, remove the lower leaves, dip the cuttings in rooting hormone, insert them in a fresh pot of soil, water it lightly and cover the cutting with a clear plastic bag. Check frequently for dry soil and water lightly whenever necessary. You can put 3-4 cuttings in 1 pot. You have a 50/50 chance they will root and you will have new plants. The old plant will regrow as long as it has a few green leaves left on it, do not cut them all off. This is the only way you can get it to fill out better. You can leave the two new branches at the bottom and anything about half way up the gap, but cut off anything above the gap. That will force the plant to send out more new shoots down lower and fill in that gap.  If it does not fill it in enough  keep pruning out the tips of the new growth every 6 months or so until it sends out enough shoots to fill it in like you want it to. Good luck.

Darlene