After developing your garden plan, you’ll need to choose the right sprinkler head for each location. In most cases, the choice will come down to either a rotor or a fixed spray head.

First, measure your lawn. If, for example, your lawn is 30 feet wide, installing rotors that water that distance will be more efficient than installing double the number of spray heads that throw 15 feet. On the other hand, if your lawn is 10 feet wide, using rotors with a minimum radius of 15 feet will not only waste water but also do an inefficient job of watering the area.

If rotors are your best choice but you do not have enough water pressure, calculate the cost of installing a booster pump versus installing twice the amount of fixed spray heads.

Following are a few other considerations to keep in mind:

• For lawns and other high-traffic areas, install components with heads that pop up when watering and recede when the cycle is finished.

• If you live in a windy region, opt for spray heads that water low to the ground over rotors to reduce water loss.

• For slopes, install low-flow rotors at the top. If a slope is quite long, add another row or two of rotors, but put them on a shorter watering cycle because the water from the top will run downhill.

• A sprinkler head with a built-in check valve should be installed at the circuit’s lowest point to reduce drainage when the sprinklers go off.

• If your soil is heavy clay, select heads with low flow rates to prevent runoff and/or pooling.

• If your home water supply is hard water, choose sprinkler heads designed to resist clogging and check them regularly.

• If your water pressure is between 80 and 100 psi, use spray heads that temper the pressure to prevent misting and water dissipation.

• Make sure sprinkler heads are not blocked by plants, and adjust their rise as necessary as the plants grow.

• If you are concerned that a riser might be bumped, use one with a flexible nipple at the base to prevent it from breaking on impact.

• Mount pop-up heads on swing-joint risers so you can keep the sprinkler head level with the ground. Risers on swing joints are also better able to absorb an impact without breaking.