Hi, Ayala. I would look into cold tolerant succulents such as Yucca and Agave Parryi. I think both would look attractive in your border.

Thanks for the suggestion. Since the plants would go against the house, I think I need something with a bit of height. Are there taller cold tolerant succulents? Thanks!

We have a massive Empress Wu blue-green hosta in front of our dryer vent. It's indestructible, suited to the Chicago climate, and over three feet tall. But if your vent is in the front of your house you probably want an evergreen shrub rather than a perennial that dies back in winter, no?

Hi Ayala, you could take out the middle evergreen and put a small ornamental tree like a Miss Kim lilac tree, they can be pruned to stay small plus flower in the spring. Your vent would then be free to allow the heat to escape. Without damaging delicate foliage. Good luck.

We have a round boxwood shrub in front of our dryer vent, and it does fine there! I do have to pick out link sometimes though...

The problem here is that evergreens cannot handle the heat and the acidity from the air in the winter. Two things that can be done. Place a decidious ornamental with only a few ground level branchs near the vent. Or place a panel in front of the vent to redirec the air. Caution with the panel. The further away the better. it should be at least a foot away so that it does not restrict the airflow or focus the exhast back on the brick. The first could cause exhast to backup into the house or cause your dryer to work harder. The second could cause the exhast to condense on the brick, where the acid in the exhast could damage the mortor.

Hey ... I have the same problem. I had an Alberta Dwarf Spruce there and it started to look similar to your cedars. I replace the spruce with a cast iron urn and placed spireas in front of it. No more problems.

How about shorten the dryer vent so it extorts the hot acidic air above the roof and away from all plants?

We have always had roses in front of our dryer vent.. and because of the heat they bloom year round (in VA).

I have a arborvitae planted so it stands just next to the vent and some peonies about 2-3 feet in front of the vent. I have never had any problems and they have been there for 8 years.

Twenty years ago we planted wisteria in front of our dryer vent. Wisteria is iffy here in WI and having been advised to plant in a sheltered location, that was the best spot. It's blooming gloriously as I write this.

we have a rosa rugosa rose in front of the vent, here in Western PA

I guess the promblem is with evergreens, as Kolseth advised, since I have a lilac and a hydrangea by my vent and they do just fine. A snowball hydragea would fill up that area nicely, if they are hardy in Chicago. (One of my favorite cities, by the way!) As much as I like the look of Alberta Spruce, I find that they suffer from spider mites.

Get a ventless dryer. Fagor makes one that gets great reviews--I'm planning to buy one in the next few months for my kitchen/laundry renovation.

A ventless dryer would have to be electric and not gas to keep carbon monoxide out of the house. Fyi....

Thread is 10 yrs old FYI....