Waterhoop Tree Sprinkler Review Watering & Irrigation

Waterhoop Tree Sprinkler: Product Review

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The Waterhoop

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 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. 

Waterhoop header image

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

waterhoop improvements review

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 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.

Waterhoop
A specially-designed watering ring for trees and shrubs

Last update on 2024-03-29 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

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GPR Recommendation

Quality
Ease of Use
Performance
Final Thoughts

A simple, effective and easy-to-use way to thoroughly water newly planted trees and shrubs

Overall Score 4.3

Available on Amazon

See It Online

Disclaimer – GPReview would like to thank the manufacturer/distributor for giving us a free sample to review. There was no expectation that it would be a positive review and we received no compensation for writing it. All opinions expressed here are those of the author based on personal experience using the product.

Please note that the Amazon links (and only the Amazon links) above are affiliate links. Should you choose to purchase products through these links, GPReview will make a small commission (at no extra cost to you) that helps to support this website and our gardening product reviews. Thank you!

6 Comments on Waterhoop Tree Sprinkler: Product Review

    • The thing with watering spikes is that they can be hard to get into the ground and, depending on the design, they can clog up. Then again, when they work they do get the water right to where it’s needed – the root zone. I think the “best” option would really depend on your soil conditions. And, of course, there’s always the option of going with a soaker hose wrapped around the tree a few times.

  1. Ian Smith

    Wow, I love the Waterhoop! I use to use the soaker hose but for some reason would rot out after sitting for some time. One benefit of the Waterhoop that I noticed was it is so easy to move around from spot to spot since it is open ended on one end. Plus, I can adjust the water flow right from the device itself. Great idea! I love your blog! Thank you.

    Ian

  2. Steve F

    I purchased one two weeks ago, and it looks like they took your advice and improved the product. There are no more clamps and fits tight! the hose is thicker at the base, so there is no kinking up.

    • Glad to hear it! They told us that they’d made some modifications based on our review but we haven’t fully evaluated it yet. So nice to hear that it’s been improved 🙂

  3. Pingback: Dave Ford and the Waterhoop - Southern Wild

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