First cut them back, but not below their first Y, otherwise you have to wait for it to Y again to produce flowers. Then put the pot (with plant) in a dark place, I have a basement hallway well away from any sunlight although it's not pitch dark or anything, and stop watering. One by one any remaining leaves will fall off. Let the soil go dry, then water about once a month with just a cup or so of water right at the base of the trunk, to keep the roots from completely dying. I suspect many of the peripheral roots just dry up and die, but at least the ones closest to the trunk are kept alive. By March or April my plants started showing signs of wanting to come to life - putting out pale green leaves - so I took them out of their corner and placed by a window, started watering, and voila! I think it took about 2 months for them to flower after coming out of dormancy.

bulldinkie-I'm so sorry to hear this. One of my DH's cousins killed himself last year. Before that, I never knew anyone that had killed themselves. I too used to think it was a selfish act etc. Now that I knew him, I understand that he was not in his right mind anymore. He was so depressed he wasn't rational. He couldn't have been to leave behind his loving family and young DD. He always did for everyone else and never thought twice. I think about him nearly everyday and am sad that he thought that was the best/only way out. So sad that one family has so much tragedy. Depression can run in families, perhaps that is the case here?

Hazie, DH did an excellent job on his first project! Congrats to him! If you ever go to an arts and craft fair, there are many male artists. No shame in being artistic. My DH made some of the most creative costumes for our kids. My DH wants to learn stained glass. He would be much better at it than me because he is an engineer and likes precision. He is SOOO supportive of my mosaics. He had his own shed built so he could move all the tools out of mine. He said mine is a 'shop'. his is a 'shed'. Now you have him hooked, there's no limit to what you all can do.

Sophie's route is undoubtedly safer, OTHO the only way you learn how to DIY projects is by doing them, whether or not you already know how (with the required reading, youtube videos and other preparation, of course). Sometimes it comes out so badly you need to rip it out and try again, sometimes it comes out OK and you will do better the next time, rarely it comes out great. The important thing is to learn. Education is expensive, whatever form it takes. I don't regret the projects I did with disastrous results and then had to re-do, because now I've done similar things 20 or 50 times and can do them correctly, and with confidence. If I hadn't done it the first time I would never have learned anything. It's all a question of where your interest lie.