Candles Appear On Oregon Green Austrian Pine Tree - May 2025

Last Fall, I planted a small Oregon Green Austrian Pine tree in our front yard that managed to handle the Winter and is seemingly doing ok this Spring.  When I planted that tree, I also wrote a 'Getting to Know" post about the tree that included this description of part of the tree:

... In the Spring...there is a firework explosion of pearly white candles that come out in clusters.

Candles.  That's neat.   I was waiting to see if it would happen on our tree this Spring and watching and watching.  This past week, these white tubes began to grow and 'explode'.  Just like the description said.  See below for the candles on the Austrian Pine Oregon Green tree:

Pretty neat to see them - as this is a first for me.  

There is something that some folks do called "Candling", where they deliberately REMOVE or SHORTEN the candles in Spring.  Here's more from the Seattle Japanese Garden:

April to May is when we begin the spring pruning process, or “candling,” here in the garden. This time of year we are able to take advantage of the tender new growth and snap off candles with our fingers. Simply put, candling is the act of selectively removing or reducing the size of the candle to reduce or restrict the growth of the tree itself.

It is by controlling this growth that we are able to maintain the distinctive shape of the pine trees. When the dominant candle is removed, the growth of the mature branch is shortened. Without having to use its energy to grow this main branch, the tree can now put more energy into the secondary candles. When shortened, these secondary candles produce shorter and denser growth further lending to the form.

You trim the candles to control growth.   

With the tree being so small (just 2-3 feet tall at this point), I'm not going to limit growth just yet.