Where do you live? (makes a huge difference)

It's late in the season to be pruning now, which means that subsequent growth will tend to be stretched, skinny, and floppy, and the chance of multiple branchings decreases. The plant, instead, will put energy into growing just a few long tall branches.

If you can wait until next Summer, I think you'll be much happier with the results.

And if the tree is healthy, you can whack it all the way down the trunk.

Pruned mine a few weeks ago.....

Josh

Sorry about that - I forgot to input my zone. I'm in northern VA.

I'll wait until next spring/summer then. I didn't think I could get away with cutting down that low on the trunk though (even next summer). Is yours starting to grow back?

Thank you!

Also, I forgot to ask, which month do you recommend pruning in? I was thinking early April, but perhaps that's too early...

I would prune in June.

Yes, mine is shooting out new growth all around the trunk. I'm turning it regularly so that light hits the trunk on all sides, in order to get the most out of the last bit of warmth here in northern California.

Josh

Before you prune away a nice branch as random collateral, you might like to try air layering on it. Who knows, the branch you were about to prune away in the spring may actually have grown roots (between now and spring) and could be the beginning of a new avocado tree.

I would also normally have pruned down to some set of leaves or a split in a y-branch, but knowing how hardy these trees are, even a severe prune to the trunk of a tree will still have off-shoots that grow from it, so it's another way to achieve some good root system to support the upper growth.

Pruning an avocado as josh has done will probably be inevitable if grown in a container. The downside is the new growth will never be well attached and will be subject to easy breakage. Calistoga Al