If your abutilon is getting lanky, it is telling you that it needs more light. That can happen if it has gotten tall and the entire plant is no longer exposed to sunlight or if something has grown or been positioned between it and its light source. It should have bright light all day with a minimum of four hours direct sunlight that reach its entire leaf canopy.

It is very common to have an abutilon houseplant become spindly and it is fine to cut it back in the spring, reducing stems by 1/3rd and removing the growth in the center of the plant. Then give it all the light you can for more dense regrowth.

Courtesy of NYBG Plant Information Service