Las Cruces Watering Schedule: Fall & Winter 2026 Guide
Which days your address can water, what changed on October 1, and how often your desert plants actually need water once the weather cools. Set your controller once and stop guessing.
In the City of Las Cruces, even-numbered addresses water on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Odd-numbered addresses water on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Nobody waters on Monday. From October 1 through March 31 you can water at any time of day on your days. From April 1 through September 30 you also cannot water between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. In winter, most established desert plants need water far less often, so cut the number of watering days, not how deep each watering goes.
The Las Cruces Watering Schedule
The City of Las Cruces sets outdoor watering days by the last digit of your street address. The days stay the same all year. What changes with the season is the time of day you are allowed to water.
| Address ends in | Your watering days | Monday |
|---|---|---|
| 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8 (even) | Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday | No watering |
| 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9 (odd) | Wednesday, Friday, Sunday | No watering |
Source: City of Las Cruces Water Conservation Program. These rules are for City of Las Cruces water customers. If your water comes from a different provider, check that provider’s rules.
How to Find Your Watering Days
Look at the last digit
Only the final number of your house address counts. 2417 ends in 7, so it is an odd address.
Match it to the days
Even addresses get Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Odd addresses get Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
Program the controller
Most controllers have an odd/even or “days of week” setting. Pick your three days and block Monday.
Check every zone
Drip, sprinkler and bubbler zones all follow the same days. One wrong zone can still count as a violation.
Summer Rules vs Fall and Winter Rules
The city runs two seasons of restrictions. The days never change, but the summer time-of-day limit is lifted for fall and winter.
April 1 to September 30
- Water only on your three address days
- No watering on Monday
- No watering between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
- Best window: early morning before 10 a.m.
October 1 to March 31
- Water only on your three address days
- No watering on Monday
- Daytime hour limit is lifted
- Best window: late morning or midday, once soil has warmed
That daytime change matters in winter. Watering at 5 a.m. on a cold January morning can leave water sitting on frozen soil or icing up on sidewalks. With the hour limit gone, you can shift your start time to late morning when the ground is warmer.
How Often to Water in Fall and Winter
Being allowed to water three days a week does not mean your yard needs it. Plants use far less water in cool weather. NMSU Extension horticulture guidance for New Mexico is simple: water less often in winter, but always wet the soil to the same depth. If you cut both the frequency and the depth, roots die back and plants go into spring already stressed.
| Established desert plants | How often (Dec to Mar) | Wet the soil to |
|---|---|---|
| Trees | Every 45 to 60 days | 24 to 36 inches |
| Shrubs | Every 45 to 60 days | 18 to 24 inches |
| Groundcovers and vines | Every 30 to 60 days | 8 to 12 inches |
| Turf | About every 30 days | 6 to 10 inches |
Source: NMSU Extension Horticulture, “Same Depth, Less Frequent: Irrigating in Winter.” These are for established, desert-adapted plants. New plantings and non-native plants usually need water more often.
October and November are a transition. Days are still warm, so step watering down gradually instead of jumping straight to the winter interval. A quick way to check is the screwdriver test: push a long screwdriver or piece of rebar into the soil. It slides easily through moist soil and stops when it hits dry soil, which tells you how deep your last watering reached.
How to Reset Your Irrigation Controller for Fall
Confirm your days
Make sure the controller only runs on your even or odd days and never on Monday. Check after any power outage, since some controllers reset.
Cut the number of days, not the run time
Keep each run long enough to wet the full root zone. Drop how many days per week or month each zone runs.
Move start times later
Now that the 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. limit is lifted, start winter cycles in late morning so water soaks into warmer soil.
Split turf and drip zones
Grass, trees and cacti should never share a zone or a schedule. If yours do, that is a design problem worth fixing.
Protect the backflow and exposed pipe
Insulate the backflow preventer and any above-ground pipe. A cracked fitting can waste far more water than a full season of careful watering.
Watch for leaks and runoff
Water running off your property into the street is the kind of waste the city asks residents to report. Fix broken heads and leaking drip lines before winter.
If your system only has one or two zones, or it waters grass and trees together, a drip irrigation upgrade lets you give each plant group its own schedule. That is the single biggest fix for most Las Cruces yards.
Which Plants Still Need Winter Water
Keep watering on a schedule
Evergreens like pinesRosemaryTrees planted this yearFall-planted shrubsLawns
Evergreens keep losing moisture through their leaves all winter. New plantings have small root systems that dry out quickly.
Little or no winter water
Most cactiAgave and yuccaDormant nativesEstablished desert shrubs
Many cacti and succulents need no winter water at all. Wet, cold roots are a bigger risk for them than drought.
If you planted trees this fall, our guide to planting a tree in caliche soil explains why deep watering matters so much in our ground. For plants that get by on very little water once established, see 10 native plants that thrive in Las Cruces.
Common Winter Watering Mistakes
Leaving the summer schedule on
The most common one. Plants that needed water three times a week in July might need it once or twice a month in January.
Shortening every run
Five-minute runs only wet the top few inches. Roots move up toward the surface, where they freeze and dry out.
Stopping completely
Winter in the Chihuahuan Desert is dry and windy. Trees and evergreens that get nothing for months can show damage in spring.
Watering frozen ground
Water runs off instead of soaking in, and can ice walkways. Water on milder days when the soil is not frozen.
Watering on Monday
Monday is closed to every address, year-round. A controller set to “every other day” will eventually land on it.
Forgetting the cacti
Cacti on the same drip line as thirsty shrubs get overwatered all winter. Separate them or cap their emitters.
A yard designed around low-water plants makes all of this easier. A xeriscape design groups plants by water need from the start, so one schedule fits each zone. For the rest of the seasonal to-do list, see our fall landscaping checklist for Las Cruces.
Watering Schedule FAQ
What days can I water in Las Cruces?
It depends on the last digit of your address. Even addresses water Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Odd addresses water Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. No outdoor watering is allowed on Monday.
Can I water during the day in winter?
Yes. From October 1 through March 31 the city lifts the daytime hour limit, so you can water at any time on your assigned days. The 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. ban applies from April 1 through September 30.
Do the rules apply to drip irrigation and hand watering?
The city pages we reviewed do not list blanket exemptions for drip or hand watering, so the safest approach is to follow your assigned days for everything. If you have a special case, such as a brand new landscape, the city’s Water Conservation Program can tell you whether a variance is possible.
How often should I water trees in winter in Las Cruces?
NMSU Extension guidance for established desert trees is about every 45 to 60 days from December through March, soaking the soil 24 to 36 inches deep. Young trees and non-native trees usually need water more often, so check soil moisture rather than guessing.
Should I turn off my sprinklers in winter?
Not completely. Turn the frequency way down, but keep giving trees, evergreens, new plantings and lawns an occasional deep watering. Cacti and many succulents can go without.
How do I report someone wasting water?
The City of Las Cruces runs a 24-hour hotline at (575) 528-4444 for watering on the wrong day, water running off a property, and similar issues.
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