ID might require a pic a bit closer ...

with many shrubs ... just cutting them back .... with no insult to the root mass ... will not keep them small for long ... then you have to decide.. if you want to go at them.... every year or two ....

btw.... why do you think it too tall???

once we perfect the Id.. we can discuss this further ...

ken

Thanks. Here a a couple close pics. I really would like to take then down about 1/2 the height and try and maintain that height

Possibly Ilex cornuta 'Needlepoint'. They can take a LOT of shearing. I'd do it in late winter before any new growth, and hope that they will grow back by next Fall.

Where do you live? Carolinas or Georgia?

Hollies of almost any type take very well to hard pruning. I see no reason why this plant cannot be cut back to a size you prefer without issue but I would agree that the best timing is late winter/early spring, just before the plant begins new growth for the season.

It will be a temporary reduction however :-) The holly will grow back to its former size and more rapidly than you may expect, so you should plan on this sort of pruning routinely going forward (or annual trimming of a much lesser degree) if you want to leave this potentially large shrub in place.

I live in Georgia. Some of the branches are too thick that I will have to use a chainsaw to cut it down to size and then shape it up with the trimmer. I have 4 of these.

Cut down to start over in spring. Let it grow naturally and then cut down again each time when too big instead of shearing into a tight shape. This will look better because these are individual specimens in an informal planting, and not a hedge or formal layout with all shrubs sheared closely - with the hedge or formal garden patterns being the individual features instead of each shrub itself.

That one in the pic is not too tall. I don't want it to get too much taller though. One of the others is. I am 6'2" and I need a ladder to trim the tall one. Would be nice to keep them a little shorter.

The shearing on these....... look horrible.....

Hard prune and do a BETTER job keeping a formal shape and you will not have this problem anywhere in the near future. Looks like a red and green hot air balloon. Others explained rejuvenation, so I will explain shearing:

==>>>https://caldwellhg.blogspot.com/2016/11/how-to-properly-shear-shrubs.html

Hence the reason for this post. They look ugly. :-). Hard pruning according to google says cut down to the main branches 6-12 inches from the ground and cut the side branches just below the main ones.

So once that is done and it starts growing I just keep it sheared to the desired size and shape?

After that, allow it to grow to the size that you want. After it reaches this size, use your hand pruners and form it into the shape you want (for hollies it should be pyramidal or round) and then just prune the little sprouts off as they pop up like the article says. DO NOT use electric shears.

Shearing into geometric or otherwise tight shapes not visually compatible with informal plantings and settings. Naturalistic pruning, so that plants look as though they grew the way they did on their own different story.

I was inferring since they were already sheared, that the OP may want them in geometric shapes. Most hollies (excluding ilex crenata) have an appealing natural shape.

This is the one that I have that I like the shape. It needs to be trimmed but I want the others to look similar.

OP, if I wanted a holly to be five feet tall, I'd cut it down to three feet and let it regrow from there. As it regrew, I'd snip the branch tips monthly to keep it bushy.