Initial growth of released Scots pine(Pinus sylvestrisL.) advance reproduction in nine stands dominated by Scots pine was studied in north Sweden. In each stand, one 40 × 40 m plot was established for each of four different intensities of overstorey removal: 0% (control), 60%, 85%, and 100%. Seedings were monitored on one 18 × 8 m sub‐plot at the centre of each plot for two growing seasons following overstorey treatment. Only undeformed seedlings, uninjured before treatment and during the study period, were considered. In the second growing season, needle lengths and number of laterals increased or tended to increase compared to the control for all treatments. Compared to the control, leading annual shoot lengths for all treatments initially tended to decrease (seedlings > 10.0 cm), but increased or tended to increase (all seedlings) during the second growing season. It is concluded that seedling performance generally improved with increasing basal area removal.