I've grown these
plants for years with much success....they are such an easy
plant to grow....I've never cut mine back, unless you take into consideration the masses of cuttings I take off of them to start new ones....lol I guess if there were some dead looking parts it is a good idea to clip it off........my mom cuts hers back each year when she brings them in, just for the fact that they get so big outside during the summer....she tries to tame them down a little by cutting them back....
You also might want to try the bolivian jew....I am not a big fan of the names either but I can never remember the proper names....They are hard to mess up, and you can root many cuttings from them.....They aren't as pretty as the wandering jew
plant.....just green leaves with the tiniest hint of purple underneath the leaves....I love to use them in hanging baskets because since they don't
flower they don't attract so many bees....