Likely it has a sturdy root system which could be moved in part when leafless and dormant.

When it comes to a treasured plant, I'd also to root some cuttings.

So you think it will perish if not moved. It has a very sturdy root system, an old variety that grows like a weed. Here you see it with the stand-by generator to its left. The new furnace's vent pipe will be coming out of the foundation of the house to the right of the generator and appx 1' away and behind the shrub. But I would prune back more of course.

How much space is there between the generator and the house? Can you run extra pipe laterally from the furnace vent pipe then behind the generator so the vent terminates to the left of the generator and thus away from the hydrangea?

Would the plant be damaged by the heat ? Or the gasses? I would just trim it a little. I can't imagine the entire plant dying from a vent pipe.

Easy to grow from cuttings!

The hydrangea will be fine but depending on your climate you should make sure you have a path to the vent pipe to clear any snow drifts or ice from the pipe.

i put a 30 degree elbow at the end of mine.. to make sure the kids .. when they were young.. couldnt get their arm to far into the pipe ...

ask your dude if that would affect efficiency .. and if not.. aim it just a bit toward the generator ...

also ask him.. if that will affect the generator ...

never had a snow issue with mine .. it melts the snow as it blows ... but we usually dont have snow that deep at the foundation .... just my observation ...

note propagation advice above ... do that ASAP ... according to proper timing .. not everything roots in the middle of summer ....and then just watch what happens to this one ... if it dies ... which i suspect not.. you will already have some new ones .. to plant further away ..

ken

hl - the generator is probably 1' out from the foundation with gas pipe assembly there. Furnace rep said the vent can not be "turned down towards ground or to the side" when I asked. Funny, because he mentioned it would be possible to do so BEFORE I signed contract for the furnace in April. Also says, the mist from the vent pipe may corrode the Generac generator if directed towards it.

tsugajunkie and S Rodriguez- apparently, not hot gases or air, but a "mist" (as described it) of something? and carbon monoxide. Do you think it's really water and carbon dioxide? My pantry window is shown in photo, my bedroom window is beyond on the left so not sure gas or mist would be good thing to waft up there? The furnace is a R95PA08511521MSA Rheem 95% AFUE 84k BTU furnace, I'm reading that from the bid sheet. Does that help tell you anything about off-gas? I should have been smarter to ask for clarification but the words carbon monoxide came up once in conversation.

Form and foliage - it certainly is easy to propagate. A hardy old variety.

Ks - I would love for that to be true. The shrub may be very stubborn.

ken - Hey hi! I haven't been on this side of the forums for along time. See above where rep told me they can not divert pipe up, down, sideways. Also about mist possibly being corrosive to the generator. But I may talk to the actual installer in the Fall about options. I did think about the snow issue. Plus I also have to stop every now and then and realize this vent pipe will mostly only be an issue during the winter. That's why I wondered if the hydrangea goes dormant over winter, would off-gas affect it all that much. Would soil be affected?

Regardless, I will cut it back away from the foundation to be safe. In the future it may just wrap itself around the front of the porch anyway. It's been hacked and pulled out of there several times. I do really like the appearance of it on the side of the porch tho. But you can't have your cake and eat it too.

Thanks everyone. I'm glad I came here for opinions.

I think it will be fine, the shrub will be dormant when the furnace is in use. It could use a trim, but wait until after bloom.

It will be corrosive as it will speed the oxidizing of metal but you and your plant should be fine as far as the chemical content of the exhaust. Now, the foliage that is the very closest to the mist constantly freezing and thawing may not like it but the plant as a whole should be fine.

tj

It's carbon monoxide that'll get vented.

The vapor that comes from our propane fueled furnace is quite acidic which might be one reason that yours might damage the metal of the generator. Ours runs year-round since it is the hot water (runs both the hot water and the heat for the house). I am not sure if it's the heat or the acidity, but it does kill the grass by the vent pipe (~3' stretch) as well as having damaged the cementaceous siding that was nearby. If I were you, I would dig up a chunk from the side of the shrub to transplant as well as trying to start cuttings so that hopefully one or the other survives. Depending on your fuel and how the vapor dissipates, it may or may not kill the hydrangea, but I am fairly sure that it will damage it.

Since your hydrangea is fairly dense in form, could you prune it away from the vent as you suggested and then install some sort of heat shield (like they use on walls next to woodstoves) between the two? (keeping it as close to the pruned shrub and as far from the vent as possible) If it were white, it would hardly be noticeable.

NHBabs - I have natural gas heat.

hl_60(b) - I kinda thought so too.

bluesanne - I will be pruning it away from the vent. In fact I looked again last night and it appears that the shrub is actually three clumps, not one big clump. So I'll be pruning the nearest clump from the vent down to the ground. And keeping an eye on any re-growth. Digging it out looks like it would be a big chore.

Take cuttings just in case

I will dig up some parts that have tried growing UNDER the porch. In fact I pulled some out not too long ago that had roots. Also the same hydrangea has been growing at the edge of the field, under a walnut tree(!), in weeds, competing with wild grape vine and Virginia Creeper for as long as I can remember and I've lived here over 30yrs. I guess it grew from pieces being pitched there years ago. Just this year I decided to clear away alot of the mess to give it room. I am confident it will be as big as the one at the porch if left to its own devices.

How would I identify this hydrangea?

I'm thinking that the people that say "no problem" have probably never had a furnace vented close to a shrub! Believe me, it IS frequently a problem!

My neighbor has his high efficiency natural gas furnace vented on the
side of his house facing my driveway. Not only is the grass fine, but
things like mulberry seedlings, ivy, black walnut seedlings and a host
of other things seem to do quite well.

tj

"How would I identify this hydrangea?"

Try posting a photo on the Hydrangea forum here on GW.

Thanks for all comments. Ok I will NHBabs.