another close up pic of the leaf.... thanks

Confederate rose?

Here is a link that might be useful: Hibiscus mutabilis?

presuming he is correct .... salty's link says: The leaves fall off in the winter and you can cut it down the ground if you want to at that time.

it also says it roots rather freely ...

that is one ugly old clump .. IMHO ... you might think of rooting a few new pieces.. and when appropriate.. plant them elsewhere..

and simply destroy this old plant ... do not make the mistake i did.. and try to 'save' crumby old plants.. for the history of the house ...

ken

LOL it IS quite ugly isn't it? We don't have a green thumb at all, it seems like everytime we try to garden, we might as well bury that money and hope it grows.

That's why I want to 'save' as much as i can but want to get rid of the other eyesores. The yard is in terrible shape because it's been neglected for years of being in the market before we just got the house. You don't even want to see the other areas.

How do I root it? just cut off some and stick it in some pots?

How do I destroy the rest? Is there any saving for this old clump if i cut it to the ground?

It could still be a beautiful bush, get in there with some good sharp branch lopers and cut out all that thin reedy sucker mess that is going crazy in there. look at the main trunks of the tree, you can see them in your pictures, cut out everything else at ground level or where it comes off the main trunk.

If you look at the pictures on the link provided you will see those don't have all that reedy growth. Prun the heck out of it.
They are really pretty in bloom. Give it some love and care and bet it rewards you with some lovely flowers.

Ken, this is what a mature H. mutabilis looks like at this time of year. It would be good if you would stick to giving advice based on actual experience.

These can be cut at any time when the leaves are off. Standard maintenance is to cut them down to a foot or less annually.