See the Benefits of Drip Irrigation in Your Landscape

April 14, 2015 | By webadmin

Summer is around the corner...now is the time to think about saving water in the landscape! We know that you probably want a beautiful landscape, but you don’t want to waste water to achieve it. Here at Roundtree we’re passionate about conserving water; so when we design landscapes we focus on implementing designs that save water, choosing waterwise plants and integrating Smart Controllers into existing or new irrigation systems. Renovating an older irrigation system to a drip system can also help you use less water while keeping your landscape looking its best.

This landscape will be even easier to maintain with a drip irrigation line running through the garden beds!

What is drip irrigation?

Rather than spraying water into the air, like a traditional irrigation head would, drip irrigation systems apply water directly to the root zone. When you run your traditional irrigation system, you may see quite a bit of water being blown away by the wind. In fact, studies show that anywhere from 50%-70% of water delivered by traditional spray heads is lost to evaporation or runoff. By instead using a drip system, water is released slowly and steadily, so it is never wasted through evaporation or runoff.  Because the water is delivered directly to the plant’s root system, you can use less water but grow healthier plants.

Benefits at a Glance

• Reduces water waste by up to 50%.
• Prevents pest and disease issues since the water is delivered to the root zone instead of covering plant foliage.
• Reduces water run-off and evaporation.
• Encourages a good balance of water and oxygen in the soil.
• Perfect for newly planted trees and shrubs in summer when they need more regular and consistent watering.
• Waters plants slowly and deeply directly at the roots to reduce stress in extreme weather conditions such as our hot summers.
• Versatile! Drip irrigation can be installed in flat areas or hilly areas. If you have a steep embankment on your property with plants that seem to never be watered properly, the slow and steady supply of water from a drip irrigation system can solve the problem of run-off.

Water it all!

Almost your entire landscape can be watered with a drip irrigation system. New plantings, established trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals and even ground covers can all benefit from a drip system. You can even add your container gardens onto your current drip irrigation lines. No need to worry about leaving for vacation! When your pretty containers are included on the drip lines, they’ll be watered along with the rest of your landscape so you come home to a beautiful entry, patio and porch.

What about your lawn? In order to save water in your lawn, we can install modern low-volume sprinkler heads that deliver larger drops of water; that means less water is lost to wind and evaporation.

Drip irrigations systems can be as simple or as complicated as they need to be to best serve your landscape needs. Simple DIY kits can be purchased that you can install on your spigot to keep your patio pots or small plantings watered. However, if you have a large landscape that needs an irrigation renovation, give us a call and our certified irrigator can create a plan to save water.

Ask us questions on Facebook, Twitter (@roundtreeland) or tag question with #gardensmart!