The carbohydrate reserve of bareroot Scots pine(Pinus sylvestrisL.) seedlings was evaluated as means of describing seedling quality and capacity to withstand stress during nursery lifting, outplanting and acclimatization at the planting site. Carbohydrate concentrations in needles were followed through four spring storage treatments and the postplanting success and growth of seedlings monitored at two sites. The reduction in total glucose concentration in needles was affected by storage time and temperature. Depletion of carbohydrate reserves decreased needle growth, reduced the number of terminal buds, disturbed leader shoot formation, and consequently reduced shoot length. The depletion of reserves below a threshold concentration of ∼2 % total glucose during storage resulted in significant seedling mortality. A simple model for estimating the depletion of carbohydrate reserves based on dark respiration was evaluated as a measure of the accumulated strain during the storage. The application of carbohydrate analyses as a routine test of seedling quality in a nursery is not currently feasible because of the insensitivity and laboriousness of the method.