what shrubs???? it might matter ...

and where are you.. and what is your soil ..

most of us.. would probably argue that sprinklers are NOT the best option for watering in new transplants .. as keeping the leaves wet.. isnt really recommended ... its all about water moving thru the soil ....

refer to the link for watering instructions ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

I hate to say this, but new plantings are always watered in by hand around here! Takes a few relaxing minutes, but well worth it.

What about a soaker/weeper hose?

(duplicate post deleted)

This post was edited by lee676 on Thu, Sep 25, 14 at 2:06

I tried a soaker hose. It doesn't do a very good job; it's very uneven with some tiny holes spraying water in random, useless directions, and other areas not getting enough water. And even though I wrapped it around each shrub twice, there's still many dry spots in the soil.

Why is hand watering better than sprinkling? That will wet the leaves as much as sprinkling, wouldn't it?

Is turning the water on partially and spraying the plants directly from the sprinkler bad for the plants (i.e. too much water pressure)? What if you aim the water below the plant so only the soil gets wet? (hard to do since there's only a few inches of height below the shrubs).

I'm thinking of taking a cheap oscillating sprinkler and purposely breaking the arm that makes it oscillate so it stays in one place.

I'm in the Washington DC area; don't know what kind of soil it is beyond that a new layer of mulch was added on top of previously existing soil.

Try a weepy hose as a soaker hose of the style linked below. You can wind it or loop it and IME works quite well.

Here is a link that might be useful: weepy hose

The one I have looks alot like that one. Mind you, the ones sold at Home Depot may not be of high quality, even if it looks like those that are. Maybe I should try a different one from a real gardening shop.

Weepy hoses work well for me. I like to throw mulch over them so they are covered. All the water goes in the ground.

not sure if you know this already but be careful to let the ground dry between watering. Roots need to breathe....

I have found that a soaker-hose does work well but be careful on which one you use. The black round hose made of recycled tires has problems with aging, cracking, and random holes but the one that has a hose within a hose stitched together is very good and 75' for $15 is very good price for me. They do have shorted ones too.

Personally, disconnecting the arm sounds good. You can always have a second one or replace the arm if you need oscillation.

I always end up going back to an oscillator like the one you showed here because you can't beat the way it moves to prevent excessive puddling and runoff, one of the features making it the best choice for most home garden situations.

Including watering small, narrow areas like you are talking about - I keep trying other designs but the oscillator still works better.

Otherwise you could lay out a network of drip tubing, if you want to pay for that and know how to do it. Or pay somebody else to do it.

And be sure to empty it out in fall.