"Trimming" plants

Getting many swords to stay small is a major problem for hobbiests with all but the largest of tanks. The fact is that many of them just grow too large for tanks under 50 - 75 gals., and I've heard people with 100+ gals. complain that they have taken over their tanks.
To help reduce size width-wise, pull the older, outside leaves off the plant, at the base, as needed. Many people do this because they tend to shade their neighbors if not pruned back. Cutting leaves at mid-point will look unnatural and ugly and in most cases will kill the leaf.
Height is a problem that is not fixable IME. They just get very tall and hard to cope with.
Vals come in many varieties and should not be cut at mid-leaf for the same reasons as above. If height is a problem you should look into other, lower varieties.
Stem plants, ofcourse are much more ammenable to pruning.

Len

I understand that with Val cutting part way up a leaf doesn't harm it and in fact is recommended on damaged leaves to removed the damaged part and save the leaf.

However, swords will just die.

I've cut back jungle vals and the leaf has died. On the other hand, I regularly cut back V. spiralis with no ill effects. So the answer to trimming vals is . . it depends.

Merry Christmas!

Bill

I trim my large swords to keep them small by cutting as much of the stem off as close to the plant base as possible. Otherwise the stem part often dies and over time they build up and cause root rot. I also have dwarf swords that have never grown tall enough to need pruning. I think the tallest I've ever seen it get is just under 5-6 inches. Swords are the one plant I find that are inexpensive and hard to kill without taking over.