On Sun, 16 Sep 2007 15:47:27 +0000 (UTC), enigma
wrote:

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?

Repot. As usual, trim up the root ball if it's pot bound and bury the
offending trunk in soil. It will form roots.... think of the plant as
a big cutting.

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?

Their leaves don't like to soak in water of course. Violets are
pretty sturdy as you can tell. As far as the cat hairs, you can
gently brush them off with a camel hair brush, train the cat to stay
away from that area or learn to live with cat hair on leaves. We just
joke that the reason voilets bloom so well is because of all that CO2
the cat exhales onto them.
--

History is a vast early warning system
Norman Cousins