It’s time to...

Pick sweet peas in order to keep the plants flowering for as long as possible

Are you able to identify this tree which I found in a container of old compost ? It had catkins before the leaves appeared. – Charles Milligan, by email

Your mystery tree is a willow. These often self-seed from trees growing in the wild.

My rhubarb, planted in a container last October, produced several stalks this year. Was I right not to pick them?

– P Ramage, Kilmarnock

It is best to leave rhubarb uncut in its first year, but even if you had picked them your rhubarb plant would have survived.

Help! The leaves on my Acer have turned brown, even though I have kept it out of the wind. – Mary Buchan, by email

I suspect that your tree has suffered from drought. If you are growing it in a pot keep it well watered, even during rainy spells. email your questions: ps@sundaypost.com