Plucking needles is the last main task of this growing season, if this task is not done, all the previous work will have been for nothing. Fewer needles means less energy transport to the shoots!

• So, in the Fall we pluck away all the old needles to let in light and air to the inner weaker parts of the tree. Try to pluck the needles off in the direction they are growing, then there is less chance of damaging the bark. I actually prefer to cut those old needles away with the help of a sharp and clean shear just above the sheath that holds the needle bundle. My experience is that leaving those sheaths promotes more back budding than if you pluck out the needles, which will often damage them. The little stumps you leave by cutting don't look very appealing, but they will fall off eventually and in this early stage of the development of the tree you should not let its appearance concern you too much.
• At the end of the Fall, pluck away needles from this year's growth on the strong shoots, leaving 5-6 needles pairs.
• Do the same two weeks later on the shoots of medium strength, leaving 8-10 pair of needles. Again do not touch the weak shoots!

Needle plucking is stressful for the tree, so should only be done if the tree is healthy! As before, with all the other techniques described here, look carefully at what you are doing, comparing one shoot to another! Think about what you are planning to do step by step, and remember or write down what you did and take photos, so you know next year if what you did was right, or if you should change anything!

Tip: When you start working on a Japanese Black Pine there might be a great difference between the middle zones and the strong zones; in that case, you can also combine candle cutting with needle plucking. When you remove the candles from the middle zone, you also remove needles from the strong zones! This will slow down the growth off the strong shoots even more! If all goes well, this is only necessary in the first year of working on the tree. The next year the difference between the zones will be much less obvious.

Depending on the variety, you may also remove needles on a Scots Pine by hand, but once again: only if it does not leave any wounds! If pulling needles does tear the bark, be sure to use shears! On Mugo Pine you never pluck needles! Not even last year's needles! You always cut them with scissors, leaving the sheaths intact so you don't damage the dormant buds that will appear from them! By doing it this way there will be much more back budding among those needle stumps you left! Even among last year's needle stumps, because they are still receiving energy before they dry out!