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.

1. I’ve planted several dogwoods and they’ve given me lovely colour, but I’d like to prevent them developing woody stems. Can I cut them back really hard? – Fiona Graham, by email.

Yes, dogwoods can be cut hard to the ground in early spring and they’ll recover to give even more vivid stems next winter.

2. Check forced rhubarb regularly for signs that it is ready to harvest.

3.

Last year I lost my pansies to a fungal disease. How can I prevent it happening again? – Irene Anderson, Kilsyth.

Remove leaves the moment they show any signs of disease, feed plants regularly and, if in containers, water from below to prevent spores splashing on to foliage.

4. Sweet peas sown in autumn should be pinched out now to encourage sturdier plants and more flowers.

5. Is it OK to use old timbers that have been treated with wood preservative to make raised veg beds? – Mr C. Clark, Anstruther.

Old forms of wood preservative contained chemicals that have now been withdrawn so to prevent risk of contamination, line your beds with heavy polythene.

6. The wet winter has encouraged the growth of moss on paths and patios. Scrub off with a stiff-bristled brush. Path and patio cleaning solutions are available, but check that run-off won’t damage nearby plants.

7. I’ve got a large patch of hellebores and I want to give some of them to my sister, can I split them? – Mrs Grace Morrison, Beith.

Just dig up a healthy clump and they’ll replant without fuss. Best wait until autumn as that’s when they produce new roots.

8. Buy new dahlia tubers now for summer and autumn colour. Start off under cover and plant out after the frost risk has gone.

9. I bought a camellia three years ago and it has never flowered. It has also not grown any bigger. – Lesley McCartney, Kirkcaldy.

I suspect wind damage. The buds and foliage are being blasted off before they are having a chance to develop. Move the plant to a more sheltered spot.

10. Scatter slug deterrents around emerging hostas. Wool pellets form a harmless barrier and eggshells are also effective.