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The Waterhoop
If you’ve planted trees and shrubs or transplanted them, then you know it’s essential to water them regularly until they become established. Watering trees and shrubs often involves setting a hose at the base of the tree and letting it run slowly for a period of time and then moving the hose to assure that the ground all around the tree becomes properly moist. That once-a-week soaking can quickly become a day of running back-and-forth between the house and the yard.
Last summer I moved a very large, old camellia out of the way of some new construction. In order to keep it alive and get it settled in, it had to be watered thoroughly and often. My routine consisted of laying a hose on the ground on one side of this rather large shrub, turning the water on to a slow trickle, and setting the timer to move the hose every 20 minutes until the ground was moist all the way around the shrub. Needless to say, this process took all afternoon.
Enter the Waterhoop
The water flow can be adjusted with the valve.
The Waterhoop Tree Sprinkler is basically two lengths of 1/2 inch plastic hose attached to a hose connector by rubber tubing. It’s designed to deliver water evenly around the base of trees and shrubs, thus eliminating the need to move your water hose, saving both time and water.
Water flow can be controlled by a valve located at the base of the hoop, allowing you to adjust it from 0 to 5 gallons per minute (basically, anywhere from off to a deluge of water that will quickly flood the area).
Specifications
The Waterhoop measures approximately 40 inches long from the end of the spray arm to the hose connector. Each spray arm has 5 water slits spaced at 7 inches apart.
It comes with a washer to prevent it from leaking at the hose connection (we always recommend replacing washers regularly with these rubber hose washers from Gilmour).
When I first reviewed the Waterhoop, I received an earlier version of the product in which the hose was made of plastic and attached to the rubber tubing with zip ties. That’s what you see in most of the photos in this review.
The newer model (the only model that’s currently available) does away with the thin plastic tubing and zip ties, and instead uses a heavy duty rubber tubing that’s attached directly to the hose.
No Assembly Required
I received the Waterhoop and immediately headed out the door to the old camellia. With no assembly required, the Waterhoop easily attached to my garden hose. I turned on the water at the spigot, adjusted the flow with the valve on the hoop, and watched as the water spurted out of the hoop about every 7 inches.
Does It Work?
The simple answer is “Yes”. If you need a device to water evenly around trees and shrubs this product does the trick. Simply place it around the tree or shrub and adjust the water flow with the valve. The soil around the tree or shrub is watered evenly all at one time.
Because of its relatively short length and the fact that there are two “arms”, it’s much easier to use than a soaker hose that must be coiled around the tree. The arms can be moved to almost any position you need, letting you also use this to water several shrubs or a garden bed (for example, by placing the arms in a straight line or curve, rather than wrapping them around the base of a tree).
If you have low water pressure, you may find that water doesn’t flow as evenly out of every slit in the Waterhoop tubing or that parts of it on the upside of a slope may not have full water flow. Then again, you’d have exactly the same issue with a soaker hose. Low pressure and/or a slope will always affect the volume of water emitted.
Design Updates
The earlier version of the Waterhoop had a design flaw – the tubing kinked easily if it wasn’t laid out carefully (or if it was set up in any configuration other than the standard circle), interrupting the water flow. If you see poor reviews of the Waterhoop online, they’re most likely referring to this older version.
After publishing the initial version of this review, I received a phone call from Dave Ford, owner of Waterhoop, letting me know that he had made the game-changing decision to redesign the Waterhoop to correct the problem with the flimsy tubing. He sent me a new Waterhoop to test.
First off, I am very impressed that he read the review and listened. I’m even more impressed that he did something about it. Wow! That alone puts this product on my buy list!
The Waterhoop is now constructed with a very thick rubber hose between the spray arms and the hose connector. It no longer flops and twists and kinking is no longer an issue of frustration. With this improvement, the Waterhoop is better than ever!
Warranty
The Waterhoop comes with a 1-year unconditional warranty that covers all parts, plus a 3-year replacement warranty. If anything breaks or stops working, they’ll replace it.
Recommendation
The Waterhoop efficiently waters around the entire tree or shrub.
The Waterhoop provides a fast and efficient method for watering your trees and shrubs with a minimum amount of fuss. It’s sturdy, easy to put in place, simple to move and can be configured to different shapes. With the flow adjustment knob, you can easily control the amount of water emitted by the Waterhoop and can even turn off the water to move the Waterhoop without having to go back to the spigot. Anything that makes watering newly-planted trees and shrubs easier is a must-have in my book!
Where to Buy
The Waterhoop is not available in retail stores; it can only be purchased from the manufacturer through Amazon.
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Source link : https://gardeningproductsreview.com/waterhoop-tree-sprinkler-product-review/
