Cuttings can definitely put out shoots without rooting at all. You just have to check if it has any roots, but gently pulling on the cutting. Obviously, it will come out quite easily if it has not roots, but will resist if there is any significant rooting happening. I don't see any reason to put it in the ground unless it has a substantial root system.

Thanks for the info; what caught my attention was why only one pot has responded this way? And I mentioned it could be a false flag, because I've learnt from the apricots cuttings that flowered and the buds opened new leaves, but when they were transplanted, I'd found out they had no roots whatsoever, and they dried out and died!

I guess the safest option here is to leave it as is another month and see if it makes it, and keeps growing up, if so, then I'd have a couple of years worth of growth already gained if not more in its actual height, which sounds too good to be true TBH.

Well, putting the patience song on, waiting and beholding, praying it will make it through.

So far, it's still showing new growth, and today I tried to hold it up in the air from the cutting and it hung just fine, although the pot weighs over 1Kg.

I've placed it from day one in a small sides-covered room without a roof, so it gets direct sunlight only at mid-day for 1-2 hours, otherwise it's under indirect bright light during the day, and I would love to know if I should take it out now in direct sunshine more often, or is it too risky?

I'm too curious about this experiment, because the more I read online, the more it seems impossible to propagate carob from cuttings, and the adventurous me wants to take it out and observes it for real, but the logical me says it's too bad if it is just rooting and I stun it and kill it by such sudden a shock.

One last question, in my experience new "fake" growth of a rootless cutting will always die in a week or so, and if that's true, does a new persistent grown mean the opposite? Does it mean: New Growth = The Cutting Developed Roots Already?

I just threw away the last of my many pomegranate cuttings that had been sitting in the propagation chamber since February with new growth -- none of them ended up with any roots! So unfortunately, it is totally possible that yours still has no roots. Your observation that most "fake" growth dies quickly is true, but only in a fairly dehydrating situation. The reason my pomegranate cuttings maintained green leafy growth for so long without any roots was due to the high humidity.

Nmfruit, you might have been premature in throwing out the pomegranates. I've never tried pomegranates but many cuttings can take far more than three months to root. If the tops were healthy I'd have given them a year at least.

I would have kept the pomegranate, it's one of the easiest we grow in the farm, both figs and pomegranate, we just take cuttings, stick them in the ground under a giant acacia tree, and water them, the next year both will have grown few inches and ready to be transplanted, and several times we just stick them in the ground where they're supposed to be and it's almost a %100 success rate.

However, the climate is perfect for them, it's dry and hot in the summer, then mostly dry and cold in the winter.

Back to the carob, yesterday, another little cutting is resuming it's growth too, while I checked the others, and they have all dried out and died and were not bending rather breaking when I tried to twist them.

This would be super interesting it's a success, and I'm more intrigued to see what'll happen next month iA and share the outcome.

For many years I tinkered with rooting experiments for my amusement. My preferred technique to evolve was to put the tests in clear plastic which was then, usually, set inside a dark pot. Any root growth could then be seen through the plastic.

Fantastic Albert, I have put them in transparent containers to see the roots, but I see algae instead, and your comment has enlightened me ,I shall place them inside a black pot or somehow to obstruct the light from passing through, while I'll be able to pull the transparent container out at will to see if the roots have reached the edges.

Thanks for the tip.

Floral, there was definitely no hope for these pomegranate cuttings, as the bottoms were beginning to rot. I can't imagine avoiding rot for a whole year while waiting for something to root! That must take some care and patience...

Anyway, my cuttings were in a warm greenhouse all that time, so they would have rooted already if they were going to. I know pomegranates usually root easily, as I have been successful with them in the past. I suspect my pomegranate cuttings were low quality, since the grape cuttings I rooted at the same time are nearly ready to be planted in the ground.

The fruiting plant cuttings I have been successful with over the years (fig, pomegranate, mulberry, blackberry, raspberry, grape) all rooted within the first month or two. Beyond that time, the bottoms typically show signs of decay, and that's when I toss them. I don't have any high tech equipment, just a clear rubbermaid container with a lid that I call a propagation chamber...