Should have added that I cut one of mine all th way back to a 12 inch stump and gave the sticks away.
The other one I would like to know best how to winter over.

It's not necessary to cut them back. Most of us do it because of space issues. You can just store it as is and remove the leaves as they drop. While in storage much of the new growth at the tips will dry and shrivel. Once growth resumes in the spring the dried portions will normally drop on their own. If not they can be snipped off. You'll probably get blooms earlier on the plant that wasn't cut back.

Also when you store them and let them dry out, the portions of stems that are green (not woody) may shrivel and die. Karyn I usually cut mine to the woody portions of the stem. Do you find this true or do your green stems live over storage?

I cut mine to fit my greenhouse...Some short, some I leave tall...I do strip ALL the leaves off.

If I don't cut them back, which is rare, sometimes the green growth survives and sometimes it shrivels. A lot depends on if I remember to give them any water while in storage. I've had stored brugs go w/o water for 5 months and they've come back fine in the spring but that's only plants in the largest containers (25" + diameter). Any plants in small pots that have gone unwatered the entire time they're in storage have died.