I have no idea what 'latent energy' is.
Extending new growth requires quite a bit of water. Cuttings taken before bud break will limply push out new growth that will quickly desiccate outside of a humidity tent. If that 'latent energy', yes, I've seen it.
A rooted cutting will produce new growth that remains turgid so long as the soil/medium/substrate in which the cutting is struck stays moist, just like a plant in a pot or in the ground that is moist will do. If that is 'latent energy', yes, I've seen it.
I've also seen new growth go flaccid when the soil/medium/substrate goes dry. I presume this isn't the loss of 'latent energy', but it is the same thing that happens with softwood cuttings if they are not tented. I've seen it.
What I do know is that new cells elongate by osmosis of water into their vacuoles. I know that this process is due to auxin and gibberellins loosening the coupling of one wrap of cellulose to the next in the cell wall. I know that buds are the primary source of auxin (so no buds = dead). When there is a lower water potential outside of the cell, the water leaves the vacuoles and the cells turn flaccid since the cell wall is not fully formed and rigid woody stems.
I also know that when a stem is cut, some cells are killed. Their last act is to release compounds that initiate compartmentalization of the damage. Strands in the phloem tubes come loose and clog the sieve plates preventing the loss of sugars. Living cells in the wood clog the lumens preventing water flow. If you've messed with cut flowers, you know that thise process takes time, something like a week or so. Then no more water can get into the stem until there are roots. The phloem tube process is much faster, so the sugars in the stream largely remain and might be considered to be 'stored energy' even though I do believe that biologists recognize starch grains in the vacuoles of mature living cells is 'stored energy' - carbohydrates produced by photosynthesis in the leaves are the sole source of physical/chemical energy.
So, I know that normal, healthy, new growth that lasts for several weeks only occurs if there are roots.
