Welcome to my potting shed! This is the column where I’ll share all my gardening hints and tips – and I’ll try to answer any queries you may have.

Q What should I do with my indoor cyclamen now its flowers have started to fade? – Elspeth Wright, Carnoustie.

A Once all the flowers have gone over, stop watering and allow cyclamen to dry out. In August, repot, move to a warm position and start watering again and it will come back to life. Once in flower feed it every two weeks and keep the roots moist.

Dig up a few daffodil bulbs, pot up, and bring into a cool room for early flowers.

Q Last year some of my seedlings failed because the compost they were growing in formed a hard crust. – Eric Brown, Dornoch.

A This can happen when the compost has been saturated then allowed to get too dry. Seedlings need a steady supply of moisture so monitor closely and use a fine sprinkler when watering to prevent heavy drops from compacting the compost.

Reuse as many plastic plant pots as you can to prevent them going to landfill.

Q I have large hebe I want to propagate. – Leslie Mcalister, Linlithgow.

A Wait until summer to take cuttings, inserting into a small pot of compost and covering with a plastic bag until roots start to form. Pot on and overwinter in a greenhouse before moving to larger pots next spring. Once large enough, plant out, and harden off carefully.

Remove leaves and other debris from along the edges of borders and raised beds where slugs may be hiding.

Q My large rosemary plant has been damaged by cold weather. If cut back hard, will it regrow? – Emily Mcarthur, Kilmaurs.

A Rosemary will regrow from old wood, so wait until the weather improves. Then tackle the drainage, adding lots of coarse material to the soil around the plant. It’s cold, wet soil, not hard frost that does the damage.

Select annual flowers to grow among perennials for added colour. The seed can be started off in modules in March, planted out in May.

Q I’d like to grow vegetables from seed but don’t have a greenhouse. Will seedlings survive outdoors? – Emma Wallace, Blantyre.

A Give tender young plants some protection during the early weeks – one way is to use plastic storage boxes with clear lids. Place in a sheltered part of the garden and they work like cold frames.

Start removing grass from parts of the garden where you want to establish new borders. Stack turfs, grass-side down, and they will break down into compost.