How old is your plant?

I got this plant from a friend who moved. I am not quite sure how old it is, but must be a few years at least. It is in a large container and is about six feet tall. The diameter is about an inch and half. There are a number of sucker plants that surround it. This year, as well as last year, the plant produced a lot of flower buds. I pinched most of them out. We keep using the leaves, but the growth is still limited to the tops of the branches. New branches do not seem to emerge. I want to make it bushier and more filled out.

The smaller plants are doing fine. They are less than a couple of years old.

I aslo have another plant that I have had for the last eight years. It is still small, about two and a half feet tall.