While it is a natural occurance for older plants to allow the outter layer of leaves to dry off and drop, it the leaves are rotting or full of water, this is another thing. More than likely if more than one or two are rotting, the plant is receiving too much water. Reduce watering and allow soil to dry out slightly before rewatering/fertiling. It sounds as if you have a decorative pot with insert. These were made to be filled with fertilized water and put the insert with plant into this water. This is supposed to allow the plant to take as much or as little water as it wants. My own experience with these decorative containers is that it keeps the plant too wet so it rots. You might transfer the plant to an ordinary plastic pot and see if the leaves continue to rot. Nancy

Pearl ... Also make sure that your plant is getting enough LIGHT. African Violets need 10-14 hours/day of BRIGHT light through a window ... or indoor fluorescent light. When I finally was able to keep my African Violets alive, ... I next learned that I needed to keep them in BRIGHT LIGHT multiple hours per day to get their flower buds to open. Those plants that I didn't get into a well-lit location would not open their flower buds, even if the plants had flowers and buds when I brought it home. Those buds would just brown and die. So check your LIGHTING. An easy way to make sure your plant is getting enough light is to purchase an inexpensive desk-lamp and use one of the 60 W fluorescent spiral bulbs in it. Train that light onto your African Violet during your waking hours, and I guarantee that you will get bloom. Examples of such lighting setups are displayed below ...

Something that I've been doing that seems to work well with watering is this: I take water (in my case I've been using fish tank water) and put it in a bowl and then let the plant sit in that bowl for about 30 min or so, adding water if the soil soaks it all up. After that I put the plant in my windowsill on a few folded paper towels. The towels absorb the extra water and also create more surface area for the water to evaporate. Within a day or so the paper towels are dry but the soil still retains plenty of moisture without being sopping wet. I can tell the soil is still moist because of the heft/balance of the pot and plant. If it feels light or the green top of the plant is heavy compared to the pot itself then I know it needs water. So far this has worked really well (a few weeks) and the paper towels can be reused. All of that evaporating water might even be helping to raise the humidity in the plants' micro-climate. I have ceramic tile windowsills so I don't have to worry overmuch about water damage. I'd think that using teacup saucers would work just as well if I had wooden or painted sills. I've also used this on a sucker that I've recently rooted with much success. I will say that the small pot its in does dry out every two days or so but I'm certainly not very concerned with root rot and the plant is responding well so far. Just some thoughts for your consideration. Kerry

Under the right conditions, many varieties of African violets will bloom year round. If your violet hasn't bloomed in a while, it may not be getting enough light. Try moving it to a brighter window or growing it under florescent lights. Your violet may also need some fertilizer to bloom. Fertilize each time you water, using one-quarter of the strength recommended on the package. If you violet has been in the same pot or soil for a while, repotting may give it the boost it needs to flower. If it looks like there is more than one African violet in the pot, it probably has suckers (baby plants growing off the mother). Removing the suckers will help the mother plant bloom. African violets bloom best when they are rootbound. The pot should be one third the diameter of the plant. For example, if your plant measures 12 inches across, it should be in a 4-inch pot. Join us on the African Violets forum.