extra cold this winter .. and the sun heating the blacktop during the day.. and extra cold at night .... probably made it go in and out of dormancy .. which caused the winter damage ... no matter what it is... i will ask.. is it.. in a spot.. in the front of the house.. where you want a 2 or 3 year renovation job ... if not.. get rid of it... if you.. or more particularly.. momma.. doesnt care.. lol ... then give it a few more weeks.. and cut out all the dead stuff .. [and if you are momma.. dad probably hasnt even noticed yet.. lol] and then decide you dont like it.. lol .. and then dig it out.. if this were in my back 3 acres.. i would enjoy watching how it rejuvenated itself.. out front... shovel prune... and then.. since the hole is already dug.. throw in something else.. something better ... ken

Yes: Prunus mume. Might be 'Peggy Clarke'. You can tell Japanese apricot right off by the buoyant carnation fragrance it produces.

i call it sedum ... and the usual standard is autumn joy, though there are variations on the theme .. never fert it.. it probably never needs water ... and it could be broken into about 100 pieces that would probably all live ... and its an incredible bee magnet ... ken https://www.google.com/search?q=autumn+joy+sedum&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAWoVChMI_6C926XtxgIVgp6ACh3PYwzM&biw=903&bih=745&dpr=0.9

Finally the magic words, "it is my opinion". Perhaps, Logan-Caldwell you have not been lucky enough to see a thousand year old Taxus baccata tree in an ancient churchyard, a wild red-barked Yew grove glowing in the evening sun on a green hillside or a 200 year old topiary garden? Until you have perhaps you should ensure that you always state that your hatred of yew is an opinion, not a fact. I dislike Norway spruce since they remind me of threadbare Christmas trees dropping needles all over the carpet and I would take Yew over them any day but I don't go round telling other people that spruces are horrible trees as if it were a universal truth.