taming the capuronii

I just started reading an aquatic plant encyclopedia I bought myself last year. And found instructions for keeping aponogetons from getting too big. Trim back the outer leaves before they reach full height, it says. Then all the new foliage that grows out following that will stay smaller. If you let the first set of leaves grow to full height, the plant will always grow new leaves to that same length. I don't know if it's too late to train my aponogeton capuronii to stay smaller. Quite a few of its longest leaves hit the surface and curve back down, now.

I trimmed out the tallest today-

longest leaf including the petiole was 21.5".

It feels like such a shame cutting off so much nice, healthy growth though.