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

I have had jostaberry bushes for 4 years but have not had any flowers or berries. I have pruned them every autumn. – Roy Donald, Oldmeldrum.

A

Jostaberries, a cross between a blackcurrant and a gooseberry, should start to fruit after two years, but shouldn’t be pruned. The removal of old or weak growth is sufficient. So stop cutting them back and they should start to give you a crop.

Plant bare root trees and shrubs during

spells while the ground isn’t frozen.

Q

I have a very large camellia in a container that is has now outgrown. It is too big to remove and I don’t want to smash the pot. - David Caulder, East Kilbride.

A

Try to loosen some of the compost around the top and down the edges of the pot and then, using secateurs, prune off some of the roots. Refill with fresh, ericaceous compost.

Prune back last year’s growth on wisteria

to two buds from the main stem.

Q

I have a skimmia that has leaves and flowers that are smaller than those on the usual skimmias that you find in garden centres. I’d like to propagate mine. When should I take cuttings? – Eleanor Graham, Kirkcaldy.

A

Take hardwood cuttings now, setting shoots into sand and keeping in a cold frame until they root. You can also take softwood cuttings in May once new growth has emerged.

Wearing gardening gloves, tease out

dead stems from evergreen grasses and cut down old stems of deciduous grasses.

Q

When is the best time to trim box plants? I have a collection raised from cuttings and I now want to start shaping them. – Alistair Watt, Aberdeen.

A

Trim in June and then again in September to keep the shapes tight through the winter. Box is a hungry plant so feed after pruning.

Spread a layer of gravel around alpine

plants to help with drainage and remove any dead leaves.

Q

What’s the best way to stop squirrels digging up tulip bulbs from pots and window boxes? – Amy Stuart, Monifieth.

A

Cover pots with wire, pinning it down around the sides. Squirrels are less keen on bulbs when the shoots emerge so remove the wire once green tips show through the soil.

Deadhead winter-flowering pansies.