enigma wrote in news:Xns99AD77F14F966enigmaempirenet@
199.125.85.9:

i have 2. one is getting a 'trunk' where it's gotten taller &
the leaves have died on the bottom. is there anything i
can/should do about it, or just let it go? the plant still
blooms like crazy.
also, the leaves on both are a bit dusty & cat fuzzed. is there
a way to clean the leaves? my mom always told me that african
violets can't get water on the leaves... if that's true, how do
they survive in the wild?
lee


Use a soft brush (like a camel hair artist's brush) to clean the leaves or
spray them with LUKEWARM water and make sure they dry fairly quickly (read:
not over a period of days). Try not to get water into the center crown
which tends to rot if water collects there. African violets hate COLD
water but they don't mind warm in moderation. Before a show, most AV
people bath and groom their violets like showdogs.

As for the stump, I'll let someone else handle that. I'd just repot it
deeper in the pot and let new roots grow out of the old stump but that's me
and I've killed a fair share of violets in my day.