How long and how often should I run drip irrigation for new plants?
Resetting a controller wipes out original watering schedules, leaving homeowners to guess at the correct duration and frequency for new plants. Without a reliable baseline, it is easy to overwater while trying to figure out the right balance through trial and error over the first week.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Checking the current irrigation controller program before resetting
- 2Timing the current irrigation manually
- 3Relying on natural rainfall and watering only during lengthy droughts
- 4Using general estimates like 3 to 5 minute soaks per week for succulents
- 5Guessing the watering schedule for the first few days and adjusting based on feel and temperature.
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I have no idea how much water these plants need.”source ↗
“I had to reset the controller as I was having issues with another zone, so I don't have the original program for the drip irrigation zone.”source ↗
“That being said, do you have a recommendation on a program?”source ↗
“Any recommended duration and frequency?”source ↗
“How does my watering schedule look? I hope I’m not over watering the first few days were guess work and today I feel like I have it dialed in a week later as of today.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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