Planting cuttings

I put a few hardwood cuttings in the ground when it was still pretty cold. Some leaves came up on a few of them and I naturally thought they would have roots started. I accidentally knocked one out the dirt and found no roots. Is this normal for cuttings when they have new leaves sprouting? Will the roots start growing at some point?
Thanks!

This often happens with my cuttings. What species are they? They may grow roots later on.

It makes a lot of difference what kind of tree you are doing, soil type, and so on. Many hardwoods will not root at all, but the stored energy in the bark will run up to the top and sprout leaves during spring, but with no root they will die. If you have a hardwood that is capable of growing on a cutting, and you put it in good soil with good moisture, you will get roots eventually. But it takes a long time.

Thanks guys. I’ll have patience. I’m new at starting trees from cuttings. I read that cuttings can even be started in sand.

For difficult to root trees you might try air layering in the future. It's worked for me with all manner of trees, including apple