How far away should a 4 foot 3/8 inch diameter copper ground rod be placed in ground so as not to possibly poison a nearby Holly Shrub?

Thanks in advance for advice

Poison? How??

What are you using such a small ground rod for? That is not acceptable for the electrical service.

Hi,

Thanks for quick reply. I have heard from someone that copper can kill an evergreen shrub and was wondering if putting this grounding rod into ground too close could affect a holly bush close by. The length and size of the rod will be for the portable generator equipment ground and not an electrical circuit or whole house ground service.

Regardless of what anyone tells you, a protable generator DOES NOT need a ground rod.

For the direct code quote see NEC 250.34

250.34 Portable and Vehicle-Mounted Generators.
(A) Portable Generators. The frame of a portable generator shall not be required to be connected to a grounding electrode as defined in 250.52 for a system supplied by the generator under the following conditions:
(1) The generator supplies only equipment mounted on the generator, cord-and-plug-connected equipment through receptacles mounted on the generator, or both, and
(2) The normally non–current-carrying metal parts of equipment and the equipment grounding conductor terminals of the receptacles are connected to the generator frame.