Q: I have several African violets and they all had wonderful blooms in our sun room. But all have stopped blooming and have a hard core center leaf section.

A: It’s common for the lower leaves on an African violet to shrivel and drop off. When this happens for more than a year, the lower main stem of the plant becomes bare and hard. African violet experts recommend repotting a plant every six months. Remove a half-inch of soil off the bottom of the root ball, put the root ball back in the pot and add soil around the stem beneath the lowest leaves. This usually covers the exposed stem, which will send roots into the new soil.