How to Install Drip Irrigation for Potted Plants

Watering potted plants one by one is miserable. Not only is it miserable to water each plant individually, but takes a lot of time. And like most people, you probably just kinda guess at how much to water and move on to the next plant.

That's where drip irrigation comes in. This guide is about installing drip irrigation for potted plants and containers to save you from more watering misery. 

Remove any garden hose connected to the water supply. We will connect our head assembly to the main water line.

Connect the irrigation timer to the water supply (outside faucet). The timer will always be the first part you hook up to the hose. The timer is the only part of the assembly that is rated for constant pressure, and that's why it goes on first.

Hook up the backflow preventer. This prevents water from siphoning back into the water supply.

Connect the filter. Again, this piece is to prevent any contaminants from getting into the line.

Hook up the pressure regulator. This maintains downstream pressure of 25 PSI in the drip irrigation system. This is how you make sure the emitters drip evenly across the system.

The final piece of the head assembly is the 1/4" Tubing Adapter. This is how you connect the tubing to the water supply. 

Connect the 1/4" Mainline tubing to the 1/4" adapter you just put onto the water supply. Now that you have some tubing connected to the water supply, you are going to start running poly tubing to your plants.

Let's say you have a patio with plants running down the side of it. You would run tubing down to the patio, cut it, then install a 1/4" T so that you can branch out to pot while also keep the tubing running down the patio.

You would repeat this process for all the pots on your patio or front yard. We recommend you run the line to each potted plant before clamping down any of the tubing. Trying to cut and fix tubing that is already clamped down can be frustrating.

If you need to connect two pieces of tubing directly, make sure you to use a 1/4" coupler. Once you have the tubing laid out, you can use on of the 1/4" clamps if you wish to secure the line to your deck or patio. Make sure any T's you created are facing up towards the potted plants you'll be running water to in the next step. 

Run the tubing up to one of your plants. We recommend you use a tidy bow elbow so you can adjust the line accordingly to go into the plant. The tidy bow is useful because it's not a permanent fixture in the line, and you can move it later on if you get another plant.

Once you have the tubing near the plant, this is where you would attach a dripper. Smaller plants only need one dripper, while larger container sizes might need two. You run the line up into the potted plant, and use a stabilizer stake to hold the dripper.

Note: Larger pots need 1 GPH, while smaller plants do well with 0.5 GPH drippers. This is why you run two in the large containers, and one in the smaller pots.



Put the dripper down near the root of the plants. Make sure it doesn't hover over any of the foliage. Repeat if you need two drippers for the plant. 

At this point, most of your tubing should be run, and your plants should have drippers in them. But let's say you want to add another plant down the line. How would you do it? Simple.

Put the new pot along the system. Use your tubing cutter, cut into the line you already established earlier. Add a T to the line and branch out to the new pot. Reconnect the mainline to the other side of the tubing.

Once you have tubing going into the new pot, add another button dripper and it should be perfect.

Typically, the system will end in one of the drip emitters that goes into the plant. But let's say you leave the tubing "open-ended" so that you can expand your system down the line. All you need to do is plug the open end with one of the goof plugs. 

One thing you do before you start running the system is do a system flush. This will get rid of any debris in the system. Remove the goof plug you just put into the tubing and run water through the system for a few minutes.



Run it on both sides of the system. If you use a dripper on one end, just remove it and run water out of that line to flush it for a few moments. Put the dripper back on and attach it back to the plant. 

Start your first watering cycle. This will serve as a test run. Walk the line to ensure there aren't any leaks in the system. Most leaks are usually around the fittings or damaged tubing. Just tighten or check connections and the system should be good to go. 

Sweet New Earth's Final Say on Drip Irrigation for Potted Plants

Installing drip irrigation for potted plants or containers is simple, especially if you use a system from Drip Depot. They simplify the process by including everything you need in one of their kits. We highly recommend beginners buy kits rather than individual parts because the process is much more streamlined and efficient.

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