My advice is to leave your stevia well alone and let it do its own thing. It can be a temperamental thing, and can die on you for no apparent reason. It won't flower until autumn, at which time you should remove all the flowers - if you don't, it may die.

Before it flowers, you'll have plenty of opportunity to harvest the leaves, but it could be a year or two before your plant is of a really useful size. Never remove more than one third of total growth at any one time. Once mature, it doesn't mind a haircut like that, and it will produce more bottom growth as a result.

Stevia grows best in a tropical or subtropical climate, so keep it in full sun. It's a fairly thirsty plant, but must have excellent drainage.

I might not overwinter most of my stevia; I'll probably just re-sow every year except for maybe a couple plants.

How large can I expect the plants to grow in the first year?

How do you use your Stevia? I have a small plant but am unsure how to use it.

I will be using it to sweeten anything possible. Obviously, the recipes which heavily rely on sugar for consistency won't work with stevia, but I will do whatever I can with it, including eating leaves straight off the plant. I will also try making an extract/syrup for a water-soluble sweetener. Supposedly this is done with dry leaves and either water or grain alcohol.

I have noticed one of my plants has a much stronger sweetness than the others. I've eaten the bottom leaves...it's going to be hard resisting eating more, but I don't want to do any more damage. Once they are out of the potting soil and fluorescent light, I am assuming their potency will get much higher in the garden with strong direct sunlight.

I don't know how you can just eat the leaves! I find them so incredibly sweet that it's overpowering and almost sickening - and I'm a sweet-tooth. I also notice a strong after-taste - very earthy.

Here is a link that might be useful: more about stevia

I agree, the sweetness is overpowering (and I'm sure I haven't yet tasted the sweetest it will get). I like the earthy, anise-like flavor that comes with it. I've heard that some can't stand it, but it doesn't bother me. I can't wait to use this stuff.