Irrigation systems and why it's important to your landscape

Irrigation is the method in which a controlled amount of water is supplied to plants at regular intervals to help maintain landscapes.

Proper irrigation is important to maintain the
life of your landscape

There are four methods of irrigation:

• Surface
• Sprinkler 
• Drip/trickle
• Subsurface 

Landscaping doesn't end with planting trees, shrubs and flowers.  Your landscape must be maintained and a proper irrigation system will put water right where you need it without wasting water.  

So before investing in your landscape, talk to a professional about an irrigation system or proper watering to help maintain your investment.

How and when to water:
Some people don't realize they are under-watering.  They think by applying light daily watering that it will be sufficient.  It is actually harmful to water lightly each day.  Frequent light applications wet the soil to a depth of less than 1 inch. Most plant roots go much deeper. Light sprinkling only settles the dust and does little to alleviate drought stress of plants growing in hot, dry soil. Instead of light daily waterings, give plants a weekly soaking. When watering, allow the soil to become wet to a depth of 5 to 6 inches.

This type of watering allows moisture to penetrate into the soil area where roots can readily absorb it. A soil watered deeply retains moisture for several days, while one wet only an inch or so is dry within a day.

Then there are those who water often and heavy and they drown their plants. Symptoms of too much water are the same as for too little. Leaves turn brown at the tips and edges, then brown all over and drop from the plant. These symptoms should be the same, since they result from insufficient water in the plant tissue.

Too much water in a soil causes oxygen deficiency, resulting in damage to the root system. Plant roots need oxygen to live. When a soil remains soggy little oxygen is present in the soil. When this condition exists roots die and no longer absorb water. Then leaves begin to show signs of insufficient water. Often gardeners think these signs signal lack of water, so they add more. This further aggravates the situation and the plant usually dies quickly.

By thoroughly watering the soil at each watering, and then allow plants to extract most of the available water from the soil before watering again. 

For more information on Landscape Design and Irrigation, contact:  Studio W, info@thestudiow.com or 405.285.5610

source:  conserveh2o.org, aggie-horticultural.