# New Heads For Higher Shrubs



## daviddsims (Apr 15, 2018)

I redesigned my flowerbeds this fall and planted some liriope and shrubs. I currently have Hunter Pro Spray 4 inch pop ups that spray toward the shrubs and other flowers but the problem is the liriope has grown higher than the 4 inch pop ups and blocks most of the water spray. Should I just ditch pop ups and go with risers? I'm not sure what the best option is once things start growing higher close to the pop ups.


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## jht3 (Jul 27, 2018)

You can get 12" pop ups. I have some to help clear things in beds.

But I am starting to think I should convert those zones to drip and water the roots directly. I get lots of run off with spray heads


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## Mister Bill (Apr 12, 2019)

I am in the process of switching all the beds to drip for the same reason. As noted, any change in the design typically requires a redo of the sprinklers, as plants grow, 12" will not clear most plantings, adding a riser to the 12" or using risers as a standalone tend to get broken off no matter how well they are placed. When raising the spray high enough to clear everything, wind and evaporation become an issue. Also, wet foliage increases fungal issues, etc. With any further changes in the bed, all that is needed is to move the drip line, quick and simple.


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## daviddsims (Apr 15, 2018)

I'm just not sure how much each plant needs. This would be my first try with drip irrigation and have anything from small flowers to japanese maple in size.


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## TSGarp007 (May 22, 2018)

Putting the spray on a riser should work just fine, I still have several. The reasons to switch to drip would be for aesthetics (don't want to see the riser all the time), for more efficient irrigation, or to avoid wetting all the foliage as mentioned above. The problem about different plants needing different amounts of water is actually the same whether it's sprays or drip. You may just have to normally water for flowers but do an occasional deep soak for the shrubs (unless mother nature does it for you).


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## Mister Bill (Apr 12, 2019)

TSGarp007 said:


> Putting the spray on a riser should work just fine, I still have several. The reasons to switch to drip would be for aesthetics (don't want to see the riser all the time), for more efficient irrigation, or to avoid wetting all the foliage as mentioned above. The problem about different plants needing different amounts of water is actually the same whether it's sprays or drip. You may just have to normally water for flowers but do an occasional deep soak for the shrubs (unless mother nature does it for you).


It is common to install micro sprays tapped from the drip line for flowers that require more water than the shrubbery.


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## TSGarp007 (May 22, 2018)

Mister Bill said:


> TSGarp007 said:
> 
> 
> > Putting the spray on a riser should work just fine, I still have several. The reasons to switch to drip would be for aesthetics (don't want to see the riser all the time), for more efficient irrigation, or to avoid wetting all the foliage as mentioned above. The problem about different plants needing different amounts of water is actually the same whether it's sprays or drip. You may just have to normally water for flowers but do an occasional deep soak for the shrubs (unless mother nature does it for you).
> ...


Right, you can do that, or just double up on the dripline around the shrubs/trees, etc. You could do the same thing with sprays, just put more sprays or nozzles with a higher precip rate around the shrubs, etc. But something with deep roots will need to be watered less frequently. So if your precip rate is higher for the shrubs using one of those methods, it will end up getting watered more frequently than is necessary.


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## Mister Bill (Apr 12, 2019)

TSGarp007 said:


> Mister Bill said:
> 
> 
> > TSGarp007 said:
> ...


I'm not following you. The reason micro sprays and/or bubblers are used at higher water requirement plants in conjunction with the drip line is because they have a higher precipitation rates than the drip line emitters, which by default, gives the flowers more water than the shrubs which is the goal. For deep watering, the zone is programmed to run longer, the flowers will not care. Doubling up on drip line is poor planning, as the spacing of the drip emitters and GPH is part of the initial planning stage. That is why drip line come in various spacings and GPH emitters. Planned correctly, everything gets the water it requires without pounding square pegs into round holes.


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## TSGarp007 (May 22, 2018)

You may only need to water your shrubs every 2 weeks and your flowers every other day. If you run the same schedule allt he time then you are either not watering the shrubs deep enough or you are watering the flowers too deep (they don't care but it wastes water). Or you can occasionally run the zone longer to take care of the shrubs, and the extra water the flowers get is just wasted (the flowers don't care). But all of that is true whether it's drip or sprays or rotors. You can design any system to put more precip rate in one area than another, although obviously it's easier and thus likely more efficient with the drip and micro irrigation, but if it is all on the same zone than eventually something is getting watered more than it needs it or not enough.


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## daviddsims (Apr 15, 2018)

If I use drip lines are there any design or calculators for what size tubing? If you're using drip line do you have to loop it around the plant or just on one side? I currently have three pop up Hunter Pro Spray in each landscape bed.


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## TSGarp007 (May 22, 2018)

Rainbird has calculators, I'm sure others do also. It's set up for even spacing throughout the area, not just right next to a plant (e.g., lines laid out in parallel 12 inches apart). How far apart the lines are, how much the tube emits per emitter, and how far apart the emitters are on your tube are determined by your soil type, etc. If you want to individually water water plants then you can use 'blank tubing' and insert micro irrigation devices into the blank tubing for each plant. Or like @Mister Bill mentioned, add those devices into the drip line instead of blank tubing, and then you have a combo. Could be useful if you want one area fully irrigated but in an adjacent area the plants are spaced out.


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