- If you want to grow asparagus on the vegetable plot, then the crowns should be ordered as soon as possible – they will be delivered in late March. Choose reliable varieties such as ‘Backlim’, ‘Connover’s Colossal’, ‘Gijnlim’ and ‘Crimson Pacific’. While you are waiting for the crowns to arrive, it is a good idea to prepare the planting site. Choose a sunny, sheltered spot with light, welldrained soil and dig over the ground to remove all weeds – do this on a day when the soil is fairly dry. Afterwards, fork in plenty of well-rotted compost. The asparagus crowns can be planted outside in early April, but remember that the first crop of spears should not be taken until the second or third growing season.

- I love delphiniums, and these magnificent herbaceous perennials are easy to propagate from the nonflowering young shoots that grow from the base of the plants in the late winter and early spring: these are known as basal cuttings. If you want to protect the shoots and ensure they are suitable for using as cuttings, now is the time to place cloches over a few of them, just before the new growth emerges. The young shoots should be removed when they are 3in-4in tall, inserted into small pots and left to form roots in a cold frame.

- Chinese witch hazel ( Hamamelis mollis) is a large and slow-growing deciduous shrub with sweetly fragrant, spiderlike flowers. These have smothered the bare branches in my garden during the past couple of months. Although established plants do not need regular pruning, you should cut out some of the unruly and crossing stems as soon as the flowering display has ended, so they do not become too congested.

- Dormant gladioli corms that have been stored during winter can also be started off now – these will flower earlier than those planted straight in the garden. Stand them side by side in an empty seed tray, so they are almost touching, and leave them in a well-lit greenhouse (at a minimum temperature of 12C). The sprouted corms can be planted outside next month, 4in deep and a similar distance apart.

Your questions answered

Is there still time to hang nest boxes in my garden?

H Birtles, by e-mail

Nest boxes are valuable for robins, tits, sparrows, starlings and wrens, which devour pests such as greenfly. They can be hung in late winter, but the birds may ignore them until next year. For more information, visit www.rspb.org.uk.

I have some early-fruiting strawberry ‘Mae’ plants. Can I make them produce an even earlier crop?

G Laing, Chorley

The best way to do this is to cover the plants with cloches. The ground needs to be kept reasonably moist and you should remove any weeds that emerge. Once the plants begin to form flowers, open the ends of the cloches during daylight hours so pollinating insects can visit the flowers, ensuring a heavy crop in mid-May. Even if the flowers haven’t formed yet, you should do this for ventilation.

Neil Wormald is a qualified horticulturalist.

Send your questions to Garden Expert, Home, The Sunday Times, 1 Pennington Street, London E98 1ST, or e-mail garden.expert@sunday-times.co.uk

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