Choosing an irrigation system: drip or sprinklers?

Drip: for trees, shrubs and beds

Drip delivers water straight to the root zone at a slow rate, so it soaks downward instead of running across the surface. It wins three ways: less evaporation loss, dry foliage and therefore less fungal disease, and fewer weeds because the ground between plants stays dry. It is the right choice for everything that isn't lawn.

Sprinklers: for lawn only

A lawn needs even coverage across the whole area, which drip cannot give. Use sprinklers here, and make sure their arcs overlap: the spray from each head should reach the next head. Without that overlap you get dry patches between heads no matter how long you run the system.

Never mix the two on one line

A common mistake with obvious consequences: drip and sprinklers operate at completely different flow rates and pressures. Putting them on one line and one timer means one of them is always running outside its correct range — either plants get drowned or others go thirsty. Give each type its own line and its own timer.

Routine maintenance is not optional

A neglected system wastes more water than installing it ever saved, and most faults stay invisible until something dies:

• Check drippers monthly; a blocked one only announces itself when the plant it serves wilts
• Clean the main filter regularly, especially on well water
• Check pressure at the end of the line — weakness there means those plants get less water than the rest
• Revisit the timer as the seasons change instead of leaving it on the summer schedule all year

The timer: adjust it seasonally

The largest single source of wasted water in Saudi gardens is a timer set for summer and left untouched through winter. A plant's requirement in January can be a third of what it is in July. Reviewing the schedule four times a year — once per season — is enough to cut consumption noticeably with no effect on the garden's health.