Irrigation of vertical gardens

Watering is one of the main activities that allow plants to thrive. In the case of felt systems, vertical gardens require daily watering. This is associated with the need to supply water to the system. Our plants are watered by delivering water only to the upper pockets. The material allows for gravitational water seepage down and provides flowers with water.

The irrigation system of a vertical garden can be constructed in various ways:

  1. Watering a living wall from the water supply and draining excess water gravitationally to the sewage.
  2. Watering a vertical garden from the water supply and pressurized drainage using a pump to the sewage.
  3. Watering the green wall in a closed water circuit using a tank and a pump.

1. Watering the living wall from the water supply and draining excess water gravitationally to the sewage.

With this solution, it is necessary to establish a water supply and gravitational drainage to the sewage.

For most living walls where a water source and sewage drainage are nearby, we recommend connecting the garden to an automatic irrigation system in this way. It’s essential to plan a location near the green wall for the installation of the control system with an electric valve and irrigation controller.

In this case, it is also necessary to create a siphon for drainage to the sewage.

2. Watering the vertical garden from the water supply and pressurized drainage using a pump to the sewage.

With this type of solution, we need to establish a water supply to the vertical garden and drainage to the sewage with a connection to a pump that allows excess water to be pumped under pressure.

It’s essential to plan a location in this case for the installation of the control system with an electric valve for initiating irrigation.

3. Watering the green wall in a closed water circuit using a tank and a pump.

With this type of solution, we only need to create a 230 V socket for connecting the controller to the garden irrigation pump.

Factors influencing the watering time

There are many factors that influence the frequency of watering a particular green wall. Here they are:

  • Type of plants
  • Amount of light
  • Air humidity
  • Ambient temperature
  • Wall location (indoors or outdoors)

Watering indoor green walls

Indoor plant walls, which are typically planted with low-light tropical plants, require less frequent watering. Usually, the initial watering is set to 25-30 minutes, once or twice a day. After about 4 weeks, you should verify the watering time. Observe and check the soil carefully with your finger. If it seems too wet or waterlogged, reduce watering initially to once a day for about 25-30 minutes. If reducing watering is insufficient, start decreasing the minutes of watering. It may also turn out that in your location, the garden can be watered every other day for 20-30 minutes a day.

Pay attention to the amount of water, especially during transitional periods, such as autumn and spring. Observe the plants and adjust the watering time as needed.

How often to service the irrigation system and what method to use?

The irrigation system should be regularly serviced. Typically, for systems with water supply from the water main, this is done once every 12 months, and for systems supplied with water using pumps, it’s done every 6 months. Of course, it’s important to monitor the system’s performance and service it more frequently if necessary. The service procedures are described in the Vertical Garden Service section. However, most often, it involves periodic replacement of the drippers on the green wall.

Further information regarding irrigation can be found on the Possible Problems and Cross-Sections of Vertical Gardens pages.