Wireless soil moisture sensors have been successfully used to manage water in commercial applications ranging from greenhouses to large-scale agriculture, and have been shown to improve plant quality, save water, and reduce disease pressure. Most publications discussing progress in this area have focused on the sensors and wireless networks used to provide the data to growers. However, in order for the data from the systems to be actionable, key decisions must be made before the system is installed, during the configuration process, and after the data are provided to the grower. These decisions include, but are not limited to 1)Number of sensors used to schedule irrigations within a single zone, or plant species 2) Location of sensors within the root zone 3) Frequency of the sensor measurements, and how the data are reported 4) Data storage and graphical / text display 5)Maintenance needs of the system. These unknowns represent potential new service offerings by irrigation consultants interested in using soil moisture data to aid in irrigation prescriptions. Our goals are to elucidate the decision and support process behind wireless sensor networks, and to guide irrigation consultants on best practices to ensure optimum results for the end user and quick adoption by growers. We are in year four of a USDA Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI)-funded study to evaluate wireless sensor networks for feedback and feed forward control of irrigation in ornamental crops. We reviewed the configuration and support structure of 12 different locations where wireless soil moisture systems are used to monitor and control irrigation, including six commercial greenhouses and nurseries, which have been controlling irrigation for up to a year. While ornamental growing operations have their own unique challenges, much of the necessary support structure for a wireless network is universal across both ornamental crops and crops grown for food. We identified key areas where a critical support structure was necessary in either setting up a wireless system or interpreting data collected by sensors. A clear picture of the cost, limitation, and time requirements for setting up and running a soil moisture network will help identify whether a wireless sensor network would be an appropriate tool for an irrigation consultant to utilize.