We installed a high efficiency furnace several years ago and were told that the exhaust would not harm plants or bushes. Our shrubs in the surrounding area are slowly dying off. Portions of the evergreens have died but this year we totally lost the rhodadendron leaving the unsightly exhaust pipes exposed. Does anyone know of a shrub that will thrive under these conditions?

Although this is not an answer to your question, but it a more attractive venting option.

See the pictures of the "termination kit" and the "concentric vent" on this page:

Desco Energy (http://descohvac.com/fuel.htm)

Them elbows and pieces of pipe are definitely unattractive and the above contain both intake and exhaust.

Any possibility of re-routing the exhaust/intkge to a better location.

I am wondering if there could be another reason why the shrubs are dying. How far away from the vent pipe are the shrubs dying? How long ago were the shrubs and bushes planted? Maybe there is something else going on that could be coincidental.

We recently learned that leaking gas lines can cause plants to die. Look for any pattern along the gas pipe route if nearby.

I am in the heating and cooling trade and the reason for the plants to die is because the exhaust pipe is probably pointing down which will drie up the soil that they are in. Make sure that the exhaust pipe is pointing up and not down. If not cut the pipe right up against the fitting and prime and glue a PVC 90 pointing up, use PVC because it is a high efficienty furnace.

Thanks for these responses. The bushes are all well established... 15+ years old. The vent is pointing upwards and the bushes have actually started dying off in in sections around the exhaust pipe so there is acutally green on the far side of some of the bushes and dry and brown on the side near the pipe. There are three differenty types of bushes in the area and we are having the same problem with all of them. We had the vent relocated a few years ago due to some construction we were doing and the same thing happened in both locations. The gas lines are in a different location altogether so I don't think that is the problem. I don't think there is much we can do short of spray painting the bushes green and pretending they are healthy!

I would agree with Keep it simple stupid, I would call your local gas supplier and have them send out a leakage inspector. I work for a gas utility and have never heard of combustion gases killing plants, in fact some greenhouses remove there venting in winter to help heat the spaces. Natural gas underground will kill grasses and plants. It is a way that we locate leaks when suspected. It can be a very dangerous situation depending on the size of the leak...

We installed a high efficiency furnace several years ago and were told that the exhaust would not harm plants or bushes. Our shrubs in the surrounding area are slowly dying off. Portions of the evergreens have died but this year we totally lost the rhodadendron leaving the unsightly exhaust pipes exposed. Does anyone know of a shrub that will thrive under these conditions?
I had the same problem I put a 90 degree elbow on the exhaust pipe and put a small extension on that so far it seem's to be working