01 Start before sunset

Do your cold-night prep in the late afternoon, not after dark with a flashlight in your mouth. Once the sun drops, desert temperatures can fall fast, and that first hard cold night is when folks realize the hose is still connected and the patio pots are sitting out in the open.

Check the overnight low and pay attention to how long the cold will hang around. A quick dip near freezing is one thing. Several hours at or below freezing is when exposed pipes, hose bibs, and tender plants start getting into trouble. Wind makes plant damage worse too, even when the thermometer doesn't look all that scary.

Walk the yard once while it's still light. Look for anything with water in it or anything leafy and soft that would hate an icy morning. Most people miss the obvious little stuff: the short pipe by the side gate, the hose splitter at the spigot, the potted basil by the back door, and the drip timer still running on its normal schedule.

• Check the forecast in late afternoon and look at both the low temperature and the number of cold hours
• Bring a flashlight only as backup, not as the plan
• Make one quick lap of the yard: hose bibs, exposed pipes, irrigation timer, potted plants, and tender shrubs

02 Wrap exposed pipes and bibs

Start with any exposed water line outside the house, especially on north or east sides that stay colder. Foam pipe insulation is the easy fix for straight pipe runs. Buy the slit kind sized for your pipe, press it over the line, and seal the seams with outdoor tape. On short bends and valve areas, use foam wrap or towels covered with plastic and tied snug so they stay dry.

Hose bibs need attention because that little piece of metal loses heat fast. Disconnect hoses first. Then cover the spigot with a hard foam faucet cover or a snug insulated bib cover. If you leave a hose attached, water can stay trapped in the bib and split the fitting when it freezes. That's one of the most common cold-night mistakes around here.

If you've got a long stretch of exposed pipe, a backflow preventer, or a setup that has frozen before, take it seriously. Some people use heat tape, but it has to be installed exactly as the manufacturer says. If you're not sure what's safe or you've got old wiring nearby, call a licensed plumber or electrician rather than improvising in the dark.

• Disconnect every garden hose before the temperature drops
• Use foam sleeves on straight pipe and insulated covers on faucets
• Secure wraps so wind can't peel them off overnight
• Focus first on pipes in shade, near block walls, and on the colder side of the house

03 Drain hoses and small water gear

A hose full of water can freeze, stiffen up like a green noodle from the freezer aisle, and crack fittings at both ends. Shut off the spigot, disconnect the hose, and drain it fully by stretching it out on a slight slope. Once it's empty, coil it loosely and store it in a garage, shed, or against the house where it won't sit in the open all night.

Do the same for hose-end sprayers, pressure nozzles, splitters, and quick-connect parts. These little gadgets trap water in pockets that freeze first. If you've got a decorative fountain, birdbath, or a small patio mister setup, drain what you can according to the manufacturer's instructions. For anything with a pump, wiring, or a setup you can't safely reach, call a licensed pro.

• Drain hoses all the way, not just the first few feet
• Store sprayers and splitters indoors if possible
• Empty saucers and trays under pots so they don't hold ice-cold water against roots

04 Pause the irrigation the smart way

You usually do not need to water right before a freeze just because the air feels dry. In late fall, overwatering is a bigger problem than many people think. Wet soil that stays cold can stress roots, and a timer that kicks on before dawn can leave standing water on emitters, valves, and paving while the air is at its coldest.

For one cold night, most homeowners are better off turning off the next early-morning cycle and checking the yard again the next day. If your controller is easy to pause, use the rain or hold function instead of erasing the whole schedule. If you've got exposed above-ground valves or backflow parts, cover those too. They are often the first irrigation pieces to freeze.

If a freeze is expected for more than a night or two, inspect for broken emitters, sagging drip lines that hold water, and any leaks around the manifold. Desert irrigation systems vary a lot from yard to yard. If you have a complicated setup, a booster pump, or recurring winter breaks, an irrigation pro can help you winterize the trouble spots without shutting down more than you need.

• Skip or delay pre-dawn watering during a freeze
• Use the controller's temporary pause if it has one
• Cover exposed valves and backflow assemblies
• Check drip lines for low spots that trap water

05 Move pots close and cover tender plants

Potted plants are the first to suffer because their roots are exposed on all sides. Move pots close to the house, under a patio, or into a garage with some light if the plant can handle it for a night or two. Grouping pots together helps them hold a little warmth. Put the most tender ones in the middle and the tougher ones around the outside like bodyguards.

Use frost cloth, old sheets, or lightweight blankets to cover plants in the yard before dark. Drape the cover all the way to the ground so it traps the day's heat coming off the soil. If the cover sits right on tender leaves, that spot can still get burned, so use tomato cages, stakes, or patio chairs to make a little tent when you can. Skip plastic directly on the plant unless you can keep it from touching the foliage.

The usual cold-night troublemakers around here are citrus in exposed spots, bougainvillea, young lantana, basil and other warm-season herbs, and fresh new growth on tropical-looking plants that were perfectly happy last week. Cacti and succulents are not all equal either. Many are fine in desert cold, but some soft varieties get mushy after a hard freeze.

• Move pots off open patios and away from the edge of the yard
• Cover plants before dark and remove covers after the morning warms up
• Anchor covers with clips, bricks, or stones so wind doesn't whip them loose
• Keep plastic from touching leaves and stems

06 Check for damage the next morning

Wait until the air warms up a bit before you start poking at things. Frozen leaves can look dramatic at sunrise and then recover once the sun hits them. Pipes are similar. A cracked hose bib or split section of irrigation line may not show itself until thawing starts and you hear a hiss or see a slow drip turning into a small fountain.

Turn water back on gently if you shut anything down. Listen near spigots and valve boxes. Look for wet soil around emitters, shiny ice near fittings, and water spots on walls. For plants, don't rush to prune blackened leaves right away. Damaged growth can actually shield the healthy parts underneath from the next cold night. Give it a little time and trim once the weather settles.

If you find a burst pipe, shut off the water to that section or to the house if needed and call a licensed plumber. If irrigation wiring, timers, or pumps got wet or damaged, call a licensed irrigation or electrical pro. Better to make one calm service call than turn a small freeze problem into a much bigger mess.

• Inspect after thawing starts, not at the coldest hour
• Look and listen for leaks at spigots, valves, and low spots in drip tubing
• Wait to prune freeze-burned plants until the cold spell passes

Questions people ask

Should I let outdoor faucets drip overnight?

Usually, wrapping the faucet and exposed pipe and disconnecting the hose does the job for our typical cold snaps. A slow drip may help in a hard freeze, but it can waste water and isn't a substitute for insulation if the pipe is exposed.

Can I use plastic trash bags to cover plants?

Only if you can keep the plastic from touching the leaves and remove it after the sun comes up. Fabric covers like frost cloth or old sheets work better because they breathe and are less likely to trap damaging condensation against the plant.

Do I need to shut off my whole irrigation system for winter?

Most Las Vegas yards don't need a full winter shutdown the way colder climates do. What helps more is reducing watering for the season, pausing cycles during freeze nights, and protecting exposed valves, backflow parts, and any above-ground piping.

How can I tell if a plant is dead after a freeze?

Give it time. Wait until the weather warms and look for new buds or green tissue under a lightly scraped stem. If the plant stays brittle and brown well after the cold spell, then you can trim back damaged parts or replace it.