hello there..

I have about 25 R Nelly hollies 3ft tall around my yard as a privacy fence and for some reason 2 of them got brown leaves and they look dead.. I tried to propagate them with 6in cuttings by putting them in a bucket of water and they got brown and it didnt grow roots like my weeping willow.. then I tried applying some rooting hormone and putting it in a little pot with miraclegro dirt from lowes, I left it in a part share outside and I water it everyday but i dont know if its alive or not.. what do you guys recommend I should do? thanks