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 Can I grow an oak tree from acorns I found while I was out walking? - Jodie Thomson, Kinross.

A Fill small pots with compost, plant four acorns to each pot. Water well and place in a sheltered spot outside. Once the acorns have sprouted, keep moving the little oaks to bigger pots as soon as roots appear at the bottom of their container.

Tender plants, including bananas, that

will spend the winter outdoors should be wrapped in fleece now.

Q Can you help me to identify some white mushrooms growing in my garden?

– J Donaldson, by email.

A Mushroom identification is a very specialised subject and, to be sure about what you are picking, talk to experts somewhere like Dawyck Botanic Garden.

Prune climbing roses now before they are damaged by winter gales.

Q I’ve just dug up some Heucheras that weren’t thriving and discovered what look like eggs of some creature. – Mike Crawford, Dumfries.

A These could be slug or vine weevil eggs, but if the roots are still intact then it’s more likely to be the former as once vine weevil hatch they munch voraciously. I would wash all the soil and eggs off the roots and replant in pots of compost then monitor their progress.

If the grass is looking long, give it a final cut and tidy up the edges for winter.

Q I’ve been told a hornbeam hedge would be better than a beech hedge in my garden. Why is this? – Andy Chalmers, by email.

A Hornbeam and beech look very similar, but hornbeam is sometimes more effective at holding on to its dead foliage through the winter - which is important if you need the hedge for privacy - and it is better in clay soil.

Plant out spring cabbages, covering

these and other brassicas with netting.

Q Do I need to cut back Pelargoniums now for overwintering? – Clare Smith, Blairgowrie.

A Yes as, unless you are bringing them indoors as the plants may rot off in the greenhouse. Alternatively, take cuttings and grow these on, discarding the mature plants.

Check over winter salads in the

greenhouse for signs of grey mould. Reduce watering and ventilate if necessary.