Properly irrigating your lawn used to be an expensive, time-consuming process. But thanks to new technology and more high-tech irrigation systems, homeowners have the ability to control their irrigation system remotely, delivering the perfect amount of water at the perfect time with the click of a smartphone app…saving time, money, and water in the process.
How Smart Irrigation Works
Rather than using a sprinkler program with pre-set watering days, a smart irrigation system analyzes the soil type and absorption rate to irrigate accordingly. Today’s irrigation systems are controllable from anywhere with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and smartphone apps to help maximize efficiency. Here are a couple of the ways a smart irrigation system will change the way you water.
Smart Irrigation Will Monitor Irrigation and Change it
We all have seen the wasteful sprinklers with coverage that extends to the walkways and parking lots. When irrigation systems waste water,
Smart Irrigation Offers a Variety of Controller Features
With smart controllers, there are options of weather-based controllers and soil moisture sensor-based controllers. While weather-based controllers gather local weather data and measure the amount of water lost from evaporation and transpiration, soil moisture sensor-based controllers measure the moisture level of the soil. It is important to choose the best controller based on the geographic location, soil type and plants in the landscape to get the best results.
Tips for Caring for Your Roses
Watering Your Roses
Roses crave sunlight and generous helpings of food and water. Provide at least six hours of sunlight per day. When watering, water at the base of the plant, and provide about an inch of water per week.
Feeding Your Roses
Roses should be fed in the early spring just as their leaves begin to grow. Roses that bloom continuously are hungry and benefit from nourishment, so feed your roses every 2 weeks with a water soluble rose food, or, for a longer lasting solution, use a continuous release plant food.
Pruning Your Roses
For roses that bloom continuously, removing faded blossoms will encourage your rose bushes to produce more flowers. Snip off the spent flowers below the bloom just above the first leaflet. Since leaves are the energy factories for your roses, leaving the foliage intact will result in more flowers. Stop removing faded blooms in early fall to encourage your rose bush to prepare for winter.
Treating Your Roses
Check your roses frequently for insects or disease outbreaks. Catching problems early makes them easier to treat.