Two-year-old seedlings were planted at densities of 2000 stems per hectare. Seedling height and root collar diameter (mean ± s.d.) before planting were 38.3 ± 3.6 and 6.9 ± 0.9 mm respectively. Before planting, seedling nutrient concentrations (stem, needles and roots) were assessed using three composite samples (five seedlings/composite sample) per seed orchard (data not shown). The results confirmed that the seedlings met the 28 morphophysiological standards used for white spruce containerized seedling production in Québec (Veilleux et al., 2010).