So, what is a Nellie Stevens?

Kellygreen,
As a former grower of holly including Ilex Nellie Stevens I am not certain just what advice to give you. From your description it sounds as though the hollies probably have little commerical value. There must be a large retail nursery/landscape business as a potential buyer near you which encouraged the friend to suggest planting the liners in the first place. If so, it might be wise to have the owner of such a business look at the situation and advise you. This would make sense before you invest time and money into the project. You need professional advice from someone on the scene. It takes a skilled hand to propagate holly from cuttings. Also, there are a few 'tricks' to pruning holly. Nellie Stevens is a very popular holly which grows well in the south. It could be a good cash crop for someone with extra land and a predetermined market.

'Nellie Stevens' holly is a highly desirable holly. It is commonly field-grown on the DelMarVa peninsula. If your plants are bare for the first 3-4' maybe it was competition from weeds? All is not lost, why not grow them on as limbed up trees? Either way the tops will have to be thickened up and now is the time to do it by pruning. 200+ is really not that many, just be sure to keep the weeds away by hoeing if nothing else.
Sam

Thanks Nandina and Sam! What I should have said is that many of the plants are green and bushy at the bottom then have a bare spot from about 3'-4' and then are green again at the top. However, that still leaves the potential for making "trees" out of them by trimming the bottom. We could try some agresive pruning also I suppose. Anyway, I have sent an email to our county agricultural extension office and will follow up with a phone call today to see if they know someone who can come take a look at them.

I have a Nellie Steven at both front corners of my house and a friend also has them at the corners of hers. Her bushes had not been trimmed in many years and she also suffered the bottom and top with bush and the middle bare. I created a topiary out of them. Now they look like very expensive bushes which goes with her beautiful house. If they are too wacked out, I would be creative and create a topiary effect. Done well, you increase the value of your bushes by a heck of a whole lot. Look at gardens of Europe for ideas.