I got a magnum twig last year and it was the only one out of three that didn't come up. This year I ordered one each of six varieties and I was worried about the Newport twig that I got that was snapped in the middle. I dug yesterday to check for viablility on three of my new plantings and the Newport was doing better than any of them. I'm not sure what "nubs" means but all that it takes to support growth is a node in the rhizome whether there are shoots starting to form or not. If you put them around two inches under the dirt and you don't see any shoots after three weeks of favorable weather I'd be tempted to go "shoot hunting". I may get flamed for making that suggestion but that's just me.