Tree Watering Methods

Drip irrigation is a common method of watering trees. There are several types of drip irrigation, including self-contained bags, self-contained rings, and semi-permanent emitter systems. This category has a higher cost associated with it, but the time savings over the hose methods may be worth it.

Self-contained means the method has its own reservoir. You must use a hose to fill it, but it will fill fast and then drain at a pre-determined rate. The bag unit sits on the surface and is portable, where the ring products are semi-buried and meant to be left at the tree. In order to finish your weekly watering quickly, you must acquire a complete unit for each tree. Both methods use small holes to regulate the flow from the reservoir to stop run-off. The bag style units hold 14 plus gallons, making them more suitable for larger trees.

Emitter systems are available in kits. They include hose that must be networked to an emitter unit located at each tree. Attachment to a water supply is usually permanent and a timer can be used for automatic watering. Once the set-up is engineered and properly assembled it is the ultimate in time savings, but the installation may be more than the average homeowner is ready to take on. Water pressure and emitter orifice sizing must be taken into account if you want to estimate quantity per application. It may also be impractical to use this method for trees that are remotely located.

All drip irrigation techniques are considered surface watering. Since you are soaking the surface, including the mulch, more water is required to reach the deep roots. Unlike a root feeder, you can never be certain of the depth.

Drip irrigation is a better alternative than hose methods but still cannot match the efficiency and time-savings of a self-contained root feeder.

Self-Contained Root Feeder

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