SoCalHedge

Planning & problems

Drip Irrigation for Hedges: What to Install and Why It Matters

Why hedges fail from thirst more than anything else — and the in-line drip + smart controller setup that prevents it.

4 min read

SoCal Hedge field guide

When a new hedge fails, it is almost never the tree's fault. It is water: a hose-and-hope schedule that goes wrong the first busy month. Dedicated drip is cheap insurance on a four- or five-figure planting.

The right setup

In-line pressure-compensating drip tubing looped at every root ball — not a single line run past them — tied to a dedicated valve so the hedge waters on its own schedule, not the lawn's. Add a Wi-Fi smart controller and the schedule adjusts itself to weather: more in heat waves, nothing in rain.

Schedules that work

Establishment (first 3–6 months): deep soak 3–4× a week in warm weather. Year one: 2–3×. After establishment: 1–2× deep waterings, seasonally adjusted — which a smart controller does without you thinking about it.

What ours costs

$400 plus $9 per foot, one-time, installed the same day as the hedge — emitters at every tree, valve tie-in, controller, and programming included. Toggle it in the estimate and the number updates live.

Put it to work

Draw your hedge line on a satellite view of your property and get one fixed installation price in about two minutes.

Get your exact price