If you had a hard time finding them, then I would keep them. Hollies respond well to pruning, so they should end up nicely shaped, with a little attention on your part. I would wait until winter to trim anything off - with the obvious exception of dead, crossing or truly wayward branches - the more leaves, the more energy the tree(s) have for growing a good root system, which is what they should be doing this year. Next winter/early spring, you can shorten the 2 outside "leaders" back by about a quarter, so they are a good height to give the shape you want, and trim off or shorten the most awkward of the shoots. Cut to an outward facing bud/leaf, or to the trunk or to a smaller/larger diameter branch - DO NOT leave a stub. You don't HAVE to do all the pruning in one session, so look carefully before cutting, visualize what the cut will look like, and if in doubt, wait for another day. In any case, don't take off more than a quarter of the canopy in any one year. In future years, you can refine the shape, until you have your nice cone shape. I agree, it would be really nice to have the shape now, but if you don't think you can find other N. R. Stevens hollies, then go for it. If you haven't mulched, it will help the tree(s); use any good mulch, with NO landscape cloth or plastic under it, as widely as possible, no deeper than 4", and no mulch in the couple of inches next to the trunk. For the next 2 years, pay careful attention to watering - water only when a finger - or pointed stick to the equivalent depth - pushed down to the second knuckle feels dry - if wet, wait and test again. You should apply the water slowly and deeply, about as much as an inch of rain per week would give.

I have one Nellie Steven. About 18 months ago, I had one large Maple tree removed from the front (due to disease and crowding), well, I noticed that the Nellie Stevens was completely lopsided as half of it was in shade of the Maple. The part in the sun, was growing fast. I have other Hollies (Japanese, Blues, China series...so, I noticed the difference. Now, I expect it will recover some decent shape as it is in full sun. So, this variety can handle full, southern exposure and a good deal of heat. Meantime, my Blue Princess/Prince holly that are in shade are fast, those in the sun have either never taken off or seem stunted. Location, location, location as they say! I suspect the clay soil is less of a factor, my soil is also fairly clay. Makes a great tree if provided its space. Birds also love the berries (had a flock of wild turkeys crazy about them a couple of weekends ago).

Nellie Stevens is a hybrid between English and Chinese holly, so if you get a male Chinese holly you will be assured of heavy fruiting. Dirr lists two male cultivars, Gable #76, which is short and pyramidal, and Tall Stallion. I've heard that Chinese hollies don't need males too, but then why are there so many Nellie Stevens around that don't fruit much? Too young, pruned at the wrong time? I've always wondered. There is a gorgeous Nellie Stevens at the front of Pender Nursery in Garner that fruits heavily, but there's hollies all over the place there, as it is a big wholesale nursery. One of the guys told me that the one there was 15 years old at the time and it takes a while for Nellies to look like that one.

The copper is typical after a hard cold winter. The snow doesn't do it as much as the cold does. UNLESS there is a long lasting snowpack then the cold ground might. I've had mine turn copper like that then comes back as it is now in the Spring. Recovery time depends how hard they got hit. The burn mark is not weather related...that looks like over fertilizing. I NEVER fertilize when plants/trees are stressed. They need to be neutralized either naturally or lightly. Forget the Holly tone for now. Let them color up first and rebound. One thing you can do is scratch the bark at the bottom, if there is green underneath the bark ITS ALIVE...don't do anything... If there's no green its dead. Good luck... Give them another month before fertilizing IMO