Late summer cuttings : fragile roots?

hello @ndavila80
wondering, how do you know a plant has rooted without having to resort to digging into the medium?
just about every plant (from the 1st grouping) has pushed new buds after 5-weeks- but the root(s) ETA is unknown.
can they push (and sustain) new buds without rooting?
thank you,
moo.