With the permission of "Leon's eyes" ;-), this is one of the troubles that I see in this method. The cutting spends reserves in sprouting roots in wrong zones or, like your case, in the top only.

Thanks for thinking of me. Those are great photos. I've had this happen quite a few times as well. I end up planting the cutting on it's side and let nature take it from there. If the cutting is too long, I will prune off the end with no roots. They usually do fine. Gene has had luck in rooting one node cuttings this way. Ironically, I have never had success with that. Maybe we could coax him into teaching us that method again!

Leon,

This is only the second ot third cutting that had such a dramatic display, with no roots at the bottom. That last one I planted horizontally, just to try it, and it is doing fine. This one was planted in a deep pot (water bottle), with just the very tip showing above the soil line. The rest of the cuttings in the bundle (from the same tree) were normal, rooted at the bottom end. And, while most cuttings seem to root at the bottom, and a few along the sides, clearly any portion of the cutting is fair game for root development.