Set It and Forget It!

By Stephen Kepics

OF THE TASKS REQUIRED to grow good roses, by far the most important and time consuming, if done by hand, is watering. We all know that roses need an abundant and regular supply of water to grow their best. Have you ever gone out of town for a week or more and left your watering chores to a neighbor or friend? What were the results? I'll bet when you came home your roses looked parched. Without a doubt, hand watering requires diligence and dedication. That's why I'm a big believer in automatic timed irrigation. It's a real liberator. The initial costs and labor are offset many times over in long-term convenience and peace of mind.

The irrigation system I will describe below is the one I am familiar with. This will differ from other systems only in the way the water is applied (see part IV below). All systems are identical in parts I, II, and III. I like to apply my water directly to the base of each bush with 1/4 inch micro-tubing because I feel it is the simplest and most efficient way. Others may prefer overhead, or bubbler, or drip systems. In all of these cases, three of the four main components will be the same as what I describe below.

The four main components of an automatic timer irrigation system are (1) the controller (an electronic digital timer with wire connectors), (2) the anti-siphon valve(s), (3) PVC pipe layout with its various fittings, and (4) the multiport irrigation heads with microtubing extending to the base of each rose. I purchase all of these items at Home Depot. The cost when matched against the convenience provided makes the system truly a bargain. Although it may seem complicated, it really is simple. No special knowledge is required to make the installation. I knew nothing when I first tried it. Any questions can be handled by the Home Depot salesperson or a knowledgeable rose society member.

Part I. The electronic digital timer is the brains of the operation. Basically, it tells the valves to turn on and turn off. The hardware will come with an owner's manual that describes how to install and program the controller. Installation is nothing more than screwing it into a wall near an electrical outlet into which it is plugged. This wall should be in the garage or at least under a patio roof protected from the weather. Programming is a simple step-by-step operation, easier than your VCR. The program will need to be changed with the seasons as you vary the amount of water your roses get during the year. Small, color coded wires wrapped in a weatherproof sleeve connect the timer to the individual anti-siphon valves.

Timers come in dozens of models from around $20.00 to over $100.00. The model I use is a $30.00 Lawn Genie with four or six stations. It has worked flawlessly for over five years. The stations refer to the number of anti-siphon valves which can be connected to it. Each valve waters a separate area and is programmed individually. If all of your roses are in one area you may need only one valve.

Part II. The electric anti-siphon valves run from around $9.00 to $14.00 and are all basically similar. I usually buy the Lawn Genie brand to match the timer but there is no real need to do this. The valves are mounted from six to twelve inches above the ground level to prevent backflow. The water comes into the valves from your outside outlet usually where you connect your hose. Locating your valves near this outlet is usually a good idea. You will need to install a couple of fittings to the outlet in order to retain the use of your hose. The Home Depot guy will show you how to do this. Teflon tape is needed for this task. The valves have two wires extending from the top. With the use of wire nuts, these two wires are connected to the timer by the color-coded wire sleeve mentioned earlier.

Part III. PVC pipe carries the water from the outlet to the anti-siphon valves and on to the irrigation heads near your roses. This pipe comes in ten-foot lengths and several diameters and thicknesses. I use one-half inch which is the smallest diameter and schedule 40 which is the heavier grade. Don't buy the cheapo pipe. It is only a few cents cheaper than schedule 40 but it is many times more fragile. The pipe sections are connected with a quick-drying glue. I like "Red Hot Blue" which is very simple to use. I like to keep this stuff off my hands by using rubber medical gloves which I get at Costco, but then, I use these gloves for everything I do in the garden.

The various fittings needed to connect all of the pieces of PVC together are the most difficult part to purchase accurately in advance. It seems I always need to make an extra trip to the Home Depot to get a fitting or two which I left out in the initial planning. You will need a hacksaw to cut the pipe and a utility knife to deburr the ends after you cut them. Lay out the pipe from the anti-siphon valve to the area where your roses are located. Make a shallow trench along this line and bury the pipe an inch or two so that it will not be visible when installed. A threaded fitting will be all that is needed to connect your multiport irrigation heads.

Part IV. The multiport irrigation heads have a number of barbed connectors onto which you slip the end of your microtubing, which then goes to the base of your individual roses. Each of these barbed connectors has a tiny control valve so that the rate of flow to each rose can be adjusted. The irrigation heads screw by hand onto the threaded fitting of the PVC pipe with the help of Teflon tape. The one-quarter inch microtubing costs $5.00 for 100 feet and delivers one gallon every two and one-half minutes with my water pressure. Yours may vary so you should determine it by placing one of your microtubing ends into a bucket and timing how long it takes to fill one gallon. Multiply this by how many gallons you want your roses to have and set the timer for that many minutes.

I like to give my roses two gallons at each watering so I set my timer for five minutes. Some rosarians feel that water delivered by microtubing to the base of a rose does not reach the entire root system My own experience is that roses watered in this way are very happy and grow vigorously, so I do not believe it is a problem. Nevertheless, to deliver the water to a wider area you can use a mini-sprinkler from "The Dripworks" called a "Dial-A-Flow" emitter. These will deliver the water in a one and one-half foot circle and are connected to the microtubing with a barb. The water comes out more slowly so it may take fifteen minutes to deliver two gallons.

This slower output means that there is pressure in these emitters so they will have a tendency to blow off the microtubing if they are connected by merely slipping the tubing over the barb. Small 20 gauge wire should be wrapped around the end of the tubing and twisted tightly onto the barb with pliers to prevent this blow-off. Dial-A-Flow emitters cost about $0.60 each.

A one-valve system which I recently installed to water a bed of sixteen roses cost around $80.00 in parts and can be installed in less than one day's labor. To accommodate more roses, add around $6.00 for each group of eight additional roses. This is the cost of an additional multiport irrigation head. For instance, a thirty-two rose system would cost around $92.00.

If you would like to have automatic watering but feel intimidated by the task of installation, go for it anyway. It is not that difficult, and the hours you save by not having to water you can spend smelling your roses

This article was originally published in Rose Ramblings, Vol. LXXII No. 9, October, 1999. © 1999 San Diego Rose Society, Inc.

Keywords: Watering, Basics