Which Irrigation System Should I use to Water my Garden?

Drip Line

Water Output – Low (0.8-2.3 L/ph)

Soaker Hose

Water Output – Low (2-5 L/ph)

Micro Drippers 

Water Output – Low (0-25 L/ph)

Sprays & Sprinklers 

Water Output – Moderate (26-175 L/ph)

Pop-Up Sprinklers

Water Output – High (90-2000 L/ph)

A Garden Hose Pipe neatly coiled onto a Hose Storage Solution is ideal for watering everywhere in the garden. It also saves walking to and from your outdoor tap with a watering can.

• Attach a Spray Gun, Jet Spray or Nozzle to the end of your hose pipe to water any dry spots on your lawn, raised beds and planters, potted plants and vegetable plots.
• A Watering Lance is a useful tool for irrigating hard-to-reach areas in the garden, such as a hanging basket or the back of a large flower bed.

Install multiple Spike Mounted Sprinklers in a row using a length of hose and a Triple Joiner to split the available water between the sprinklers. Top Tip: Check the flow rate from your tap is capable of outputting enough water for optimal performance of each sprinkler.

Drip Line Irrigation

How to use Drip Line and where can it be installed? Drip Line emits precise and consistent amounts of water promoting maximum root absorption whilst minimising surface runoff and wastage. This precision delivery directly to the plant’s roots produces a wetting pattern that creates the ideal conditions for plants to thrive whilst reducing weed growth.

Soaker Hose

For an easy-to-set-up garden watering system ideal for watering flower borders, vegetable plots, hedgerows or allotments, use a length of Soaker Hose placed directly at the base of plants.

• For simple and quick installation, Soaker Hose is compatible with the same Hose Connectors used alongside your garden hose pipe. Alternatively, cut the pipe to length and create a grid or row network using Barbed Connectors for a customised layout ideal for watering raised beds and large planters. (Please note: Soaker Hose is not compatible with Nut Lock Connectors).

• A Soaker Hose can also be coiled or set out in a ring shape around the base of a tree/large shrub.

Top Tip: Install a Soaker Hose buried under mulch for a discreet way to water summer flower displays and bedding plants – An ideal way to adequately nourish and ensure your delicate annuals flower for longer.

Install 13mm Soaker Hose in maximum lengths up to 30 metres and 16mm Soaker Hose up to 80 metres. For larger installations, split the water flow from the tap using a Water Distributor or Dual Outlet Timer and run each outlet independently at separate times. At the start of the system install a Pressure Reducer to regulate pressure to the correct level and at end of each length install an End Plug to maintain pressure within the pipe. Please Note: Soaker Hose is not pressure regulated and should be used on flat garden layouts only.

Drippers and Stream Drippers

Micro Drippers and Stream Drippers deliver precisely targeted watering directly to the root zone.

Use micro drippers for plants that require less or more accurate watering patterns such as seedlings, plants in a greenhouse, hanging baskets and small potted plants/planters. The low flow rate from a Micro Dripper is also ideal for irrigating rockeries/rock gardens and alpines.

Higher outputting Stream Drippers are perfect for pots and planters that dry out quickly but still need targeted watering to avoid overspray.

Both Micro Drip and Stream drip systems are useful when watering flower beds, borders, hedge plants and vegetable gardens. Individually place drippers at the base of plants along a length of LDPE pipe or installed away from the main supply using a length of Micro Pipe.

Micro Sprays and Sprinklers

Micro Sprays or Sprinklers deliver water at a higher rate of flow than drippers.

Available in strip spray patterns or 90°, 180°, 270° and 360° angles allowing full customisation and the ability to water multiple plants in a flower bed or vegetable garden from a single emitter.

For hanging basket and pot watering systems, Inverted Micro Sprays or Inverted Sprinklers installed upside-down from the wall of LDPE supply pipe using a Rigid Riser provide an effective solution.

Landscape Irrigation

Large gardens, flower beds and lawn areas require a higher outputting system capable of putting down more water across a larger throw range.

Rotor and Spray Body irrigation systems are installed underground and offer discreet watering without detracting attention from the landscaped area.

Spray Bodies are an easy-to-use DIY method of underground irrigation offering shorter flow rates and throw distances than rotors so are best used for small to medium-sized gardens and lawn areas.

Rotor sprinklers can be used to water larger gardens but are also ideal for watering golf courses and greens, football and sports pitches or equestrian menage.

HydroSure Rotor and Spray Body Guides explain how to connect a sprinkler within the pipe network and space sprinklers apart for effective head-to-head watering spray patterns.

Garden Irrigation Kits

Not Sure of the Components you Need? Try a HydroSure Irrigation Kit complete with all the components required for a ready-to-use garden watering system ideal for pots, planters, garden beds, borders, trees, hanging baskets and greenhouses.

Underground Irrigation Kits

Garden Watering Kits

Indoor Plant Watering

Water Butt Irrigation System

An irrigation system fed directly from a Water Butt or rain barrel promotes water-saving plant irrigation for an environmentally conscious way to water your garden. A Water Butt irrigation system recycles nutrient-rich rainwater allowing your plants to thrive.

Install a Micro Drip, Drip Line or Soaker Hose Irrigation System from your Water Butt allowing irrigation delivery directly to the plants without having to wait for a watering can to fill and manually transport the water. This time-saving garden watering solution is also compatible with an Irrigation Timer connected to the Water Butt outlet.

Our Water Butt Irrigation System guide explains how to set up and install a water-saving irrigation system fed from your Water Butt.

Greenhouse Irrigation System

The warm conditions inside a greenhouse mean plants tend to dry out much quicker than flower beds and require watering every day. Installing a Greenhouse Irrigation System for full automation takes this pressure off the grower.

Micro Drip, Stream Drip and Overhead Sprinkler Systems offer the ideal solution to cool the environment inside a greenhouse, provide targeted watering to tomato plants and gentle seedling irrigation.

For greenhouse irrigation systems, the How to Design and Set up a Greenhouse Irrigation System guide and Video Centre outlines how to build and install a DIY greenhouse irrigation system tailored to your plant’s consumption requirements.

Automate Garden Watering

Mechanical Water Timer: Twist the dial to the required run time and watering will begin immediately. The Timer operates via a count down mechanism and automatically shuts off watering once the count down has finished. This prevents over-watering if you forget to turn off the tap.

Single Outlet Timer: Often features capabilities that allow you to set the watering frequency removing the need to manually re-set the run time as watering will recommence based on easily set times from 4 hours up to 15 days.

Dual Outlet Timer: Offers the same features as most single outlet timers with the added functionality of an extra outlet – Ideal for irrigating large gardens and splitting your system into irrigation zones.

Eco Function Timers: Complete with water-saving capabilities that allow adjustment of cycles to pause and restart watering. This minimises water runoff by allowing water to soak into the ground before recommencing the cycle.

Planning an Irrigation System

Now that you have chosen the types of emitter you would like to use, the printable graph paper linked below will help you plan and design your irrigation system.

1. Start by sketching out your garden taking into account patios and areas that don’t require watering.
2. Draw where you plan to install your LDPE Pipe and anywhere you need to branch off from the main supply using Micro Pipe taking into account Connectors you will need to join 4mm pipe to the main supply and Divert Pipe around corners or in Different Directions.

Top Tip: Measure out your watering area and use the wetting and spray pattern guides on the product pages to decide how far apart you should install your emitters.