This is an encore column by Robert Stiffler. The following questions originally were published in 1990. Q. When is the best time to prune my fig trees, and what precautions are needed? I live four miles west of Cape Henry near the Bay. Also, should I use well water on my figs? I place the pruned slips in pots, using Rootone. Is that correct procedure? - Virginia Beach reader

This is an encore column by Robert Stiffler. The following questions originally were published in 1990.   Q. How do you root azaleas? I have a problem. During their second year, large pieces out of many bushes die. Sometimes half the flower is gone, leaving it ugly and in bad shape. Actually, I am getting disgusted with azaleas, but thought I'd try to root some of my own.

This is an encore column by Robert Stiffler. The following questions were published in 1990.  

This is an encore column by Robert Stiffler. The following questions originally were published in 1990.  

This is an encore column by Robert Stiffler. The following questions originally were published in 1990.   Q. Can you give advice on propagating hydrangeas? We've tried slips in water and in soil but with no luck. Is there some other method to try? We don't want to cut and divide the roots, if that can be avoided. - Eastern Shore reader  

This is an encore column by Robert Stiffler. The following questions originally were published in 1990.   Q. You wrote an article about vitex where you said it should bloom the first year. This is the third year for mine and it has grown well but never bloomed. It has no sign of buds. I bought it as a healthy bush from Thomas Jefferson Gardens at Monticello. Any suggestions?  

Q. Your article published May 25 was a subject dear to my heart. I live in a condo. None of the so-called landscapers seem to have the basic knowledge of pruning and have butchered most of our shrubbery, beginning with the crape myrtles. Every shrub, including two gardenia bushes, many azaleas, hollies, hydrangeas and junipers, have been tightly sheared into balls.

Q. You recently had a question on Moses in the cradle. Since I have grown that plant for nearly 20 years, I've found that it is winter-hardy in my Virginia Beach yard. A clump of them in each corner of my tropical garden in full sun comes back every year. They are much prettier when grown outside - a deeper, richer purple than when grown indoors. The more sun they get, the deeper their color.

Q. I have a gardenia bush so overgrown that I really need to cut it back. But I am afraid I will harm it. It was a gift from my grandmother and is more than 20 years old. It's more than 15 feet high. When and how do I begin, - Edith Fulford, Chesapeake  

Q. I can propagate most any plant except oak leaf hydrangeas. Can you tell me how to do that? - Frustrated in Portsmouth