Have you ever gone on a summer vacation and come home to dead plants?  It can be a pain to have to turn your sprinklers on and off every day.  How would you like it if your landscape maintenance was effortless?  By giving your plants and grass the proper amount of water at a certain time, the right irrigation system can turn that dream into a reality.

Here are a few tips on how to find a super sprinkler system that will put your landscaping on autopilot.

Do Your Research

Before installing an irrigation system, you'll want to research each one carefully.  Here are a few to look into:

• Spray irrigation: Optimal for light soils and lawns, this system involves sprinklers that spray water over your landscaping.  It's best to install a system like this after the plants are in the ground so you know where to put your sprinklers.  In addition, to reduce evaporation, you'll want to set your sprinkler timer to water in the morning.
• Drip irrigation: If you're looking to save water and to achieve maximum productivity, a drip irrigation system may be the right choice for you.  While most sprinkler systems are about 75 to 85% efficient, drip irrigation is, usually, at least 90%.  This system utilizes drip tubing and tiny sprayers to slowly deposit water at the bottom of your plants. This method is good for flower beds, vegetable gardens, and shrubs.  

Sprinkler Heads

To keep your sprinkler system running smoothly, you'll want to make sure you have the right sprinkler heads for the job.  Here are a few popular choices:

• Stationery pop-up heads: This is the most common type of sprinkler head.  These heads have a fan-like spray that covers a relatively small area of landscaping.  For this reason, pop-ups are typically used for smaller yards.  Stationery heads spray a fine mist that reaches up to 15 feet away.   After watering, pop-up sprinklers recede back to soil level which makes it easy to mow the grass.
• Rotors: Known for their steady stream of water, rotors can be adjusted to rotate between 45 and 360 degrees and can spray water up to 40 feet.  Rotating sprinklers are the best choice for an area that is bigger with dimensions larger than 30 feet by 30 feet.  Due to frequent rotating movement, rotor sprinkler heads need to be replaced more frequently than other models.

If you sense your sprinklers are not working properly, you should seek some professional irrigation repair services as soon as possible.

Get in the Zone

Since most perennials, trees, and lawns need different amounts of water, you'll want to find a system that has separate sprinkler lines, or zones, for different areas of the yard.  In other words, you can easily water the front lawn, the back lawn, and your garden on different schedules.  This makes it easy to meet all of your landscaping's water needs.  

Before you know it, your landscaping maintenance will be on cruise control. To learn more, contact a company like Davidson's Landscape Service, Inc. with any questions or concerns you have.