Madrone Landscapes

Most landscapes are going to need some supplemental water to remain healthy and attractive. The key here is efficiency. Efficiency means lower water bills and a healthier garden.  Plant selection, density and grouping play a big role, and the key is proper design.   Madrone Landscapes has been designing, installing and maintaining high quality, efficient irrigation systems for over 30 years.   We hold the CLCA Water Management Certification, and the Irrigation Association Irrigation Auditor certification, and are widely known on the Central Coast as landscape water conservation experts. 

For many landscapes, runoff and uneven coverage are wasting precious, expensive water.  As a solution, consider drip and low flow irrigation. It is efficient, easy to work with and cheap. It is not perfect. With drip, there are emitter coverage issues, especially in sandy soils and as plant root zones mature and expand. Drip systems are vulnerable to damage. The emitters, pipe and fittings can wear out, get brittle and break. Pressure variations can be a problem.

Even with these drawbacks, drip and low-flow irrigation often offer the best alternative for irrigating most of the garden most efficiently. It uses only a fraction of the water of spray systems, delivering it to the exact location needed.

But a caution here… Observe your drip system often… not only for the occasional leak but, for effectiveness and efficiency. Keep the emitters applying water to the root zone evenly over time as the plant grows. This will require additional emitters and/or reconfiguring where the water goes.  Proper design and installation using current quality equipment can minimize or prevent most problems associated with drip irrigation.

Other important water saving innovations employed by Madrone, include:

-smart irrigation controllers, which adjust the irrigation program to current weather conditions

-low flow stream rotory nozzles, which apply water more slowly and evenly-important in clay soils and windy conditions