Kentucky spans USDA hardiness zones 6a-7b, with a growing season of about 221 frost-free days — a season with slack in it: successions, late sowings, and long-maturing crops all fit.
The climate hand here is 42-52 inches of annual rainfall, a median of roughly 3,689 growing-degree days (base 50°F), and about 2,500 winter chill hours for tree fruit — the numbers that decide what ripens comfortably and what runs out of runway. Soils here lean toward silt loam, clay loam, limestone-derived, and alluvial, and each drains differently — the single trait that most often decides whether a crop takes hold. What grows in Kentucky depends on where in it you stand — Appalachia, Ohio River Valley, and Pennyroyal / Pennyrile (South-Central Kentucky Karst Plateau) each run on their own zones and frost timing. Among the crops suited to this profile: pawpaw, tomato, blackberry, and redbud. The site-level story — soil, sun, drainage — decides the rest.
Grounded inUSDA PHZM•NOAA Climate Normals•USDA NRCS SSURGO•GDD (PRISM 1991-2020 normals)•Chill hours (PRISM 1991-2020 normals)•USDA hardiness sub-region map•EPA FRS•USDA PLANTS•Growable Ground suitability scoring
Kentucky spans zones 6a-7b, but your yard sits in exactly one — and slope, tree cover, and low spots nudge it further. Enter your address and we'll score 1,086 plants against your land's actual soil, sun, and frost.
We read public map data around Kentucky — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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Distinct growing regions within Kentucky — each has its own zones, soils, and signature crops.
Kentucky: USDA zones 6a-7b, 195–245 frost-free days depending on the county, 120 counties.
The middle half of this state’s counties. Tender transplants usually wait 2–3 weeks past the last hard freeze. The shortest-season figure is Kentucky's own county record — Greenup County's measured 28°F normal, not a modeled floor.
Kentucky does not have one growing season. Across all 523 of its towns that carry their own 30-year record, the shortest measured season is Grayson's at 194 days and the longest is Shively's at 250 — a 56-day spread inside one state.
Neither end is a lone reading — another 8 towns measure within 10 days of Grayson and 29 sit within 10 days of Shively. These are real pockets, so the number to plant against is your own town's, not the state average.
NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS (1991–2020), 30-year daily minimum record
Zone 6a-7b is Kentucky's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Kentucky's 221-day season, see what your own ground reads.
One answer for Kentucky averages 120 counties whose growing seasons are 50 days apart — from 195 frost-free days in Greenup County to 245 in Jefferson County. That is the same state, measured the same way, in the same years. Which end of it your county sits nearer decides what finishes before the first hard freeze.
The middle half of 120 counties runs 216–227 days, with a median of 221 days — a 50-day span end to end.
Measured across 120 counties, each carrying its own 28°F normal. NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze. A county with no record of its own is absent from the range rather than counted as zero — nothing here is interpolated to the state. Your own site sits somewhere inside this range; a parcel report resolves where.
The middle half of Kentucky runs 216–227 frost-free days, and 57 of its 120 counties sit outside that — 27 on the short side, 30 on the long. A statewide planting date describes the middle well and the ends poorly, which is worth knowing before you follow one.
Under 216 frost-free days
27 counties
3 of 27 shown
The end of the state that sets the planting calendar — start seed indoors here and the season stretches to meet the crop.
216–227 frost-free days
63 counties
0 of 63 shown
The middle half of the state, and the part a single statewide date describes well.
Over 227 frost-free days
30 counties
3 of 30 shown
Long enough for a second succession of a quick crop after the first comes out.
Each county is placed by its own 28°F frost-free normal (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze), the same figure its own guide page publishes. Elevation, slope and cold-air drainage move a yard within its county as well — which is the part only your address resolves.
The soil types that dominate Kentucky — how each drains decides more about crop success than almost anything else. Tap any soil to learn what it is and how to work with it. Each photo is a representative profile of that soil type; the named series is where it was documented, which is often another state.
Drainage
Moderate. Silt holds water well and releases it steadily, though the fine particles can crust after hard rain and compact under traffic.
What thrives
The full vegetable garden does well here, and small grains, corn, and leafy greens are classic silt-loam crops. Its steady moisture suits shallow-rooted plants that dislike drought stress.
Loam tilted toward clay — heavier in the hand, slower to dry, and richer in nutrients than its sandier cousins. Clay particles carry a surface charge that holds fertilizer and minerals where roots can reach them.
Drainage
Slow to moderate. Water lingers in the root zone longer than in loam, which is a gift in dry summers and a challenge in wet springs.
What thrives
Heavy feeders that appreciate steady moisture — brassicas, corn, beans, and many fruit trees. Perennials with strong root systems establish well once they are through the first season.
Drainage
Good to fast: fractured limestone under the soil carries water away quickly, and shallow profiles dry sooner than deep ones.
What thrives
Lime-loving plants prosper — lavender, thyme, sage, brassicas, beets, figs, and wine grapes have limestone pedigrees worldwide. Many native wildflowers of glade and prairie are limestone specialists.
Drainage
Usually good: rivers sort their loads, and most alluvial soils have enough sand and silt to move water while holding plenty for roots. Low-lying pockets can run wet.
What thrives
Nearly everything — vegetables, orchards, vines, and berries all prosper on alluvium. Its depth lets roots go as far down as they care to.
Soil data: USDA NRCS SSURGO · Soil types explained
Plants well-suited to Kentucky's climate, soils, and growing season — each links to its full growing profile.
Almost never — the real question is what to plant next. Across Kentucky, cool-season planting typically opens about four weeks before the local last hard freeze — county medians put that freeze near Mar 31, with the middle half of counties between Mar 27 and Apr 2 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). Tender transplants wait two to three weeks past it, and fall planting counts back from first freezes mostly between Nov 4 and Nov 10 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. A long window like this one runs successions deep into fall — and even its last weeks take quick greens and garlic.
The plants Kentucky put its name on — cultural emblems, not growing recommendations.
Goldenrod
Solidago gigantea
Designated 1926.
Liriodendron tulipifera
Designated 1994. In our plant library — see its full growing profile.
Plants the USDA PLANTS Database documents as native and present in Kentucky — a real per-state range, not just a zone match. Ordered by how closely each plant’s published hardiness range matches Kentucky’s zones 6a-7b, so this is a shortlist by climate fit, not a ranking of which plants matter most here. Presence is statewide, so a plant may still be uncommon in your specific county; your state’s Cooperative Extension or a native-plant society is the local authority.
US-native plants whose hardiness range overlaps Kentucky’s USDA zones 6a-7b but which USDA PLANTS doesn’t map to a single state range here. Zone overlap is a starting filter, not a range map.
What an experienced grower plans around here — each one has a move.
Heavy clay soils in the Bluegrass region
Bluegrass clay opens up with steady compost — or start above it in a raised bed and grow while the ground improves.
High humidity promotes fungal diseases
Space wide, water mornings at the base, and favor resistant varieties — your extension's disease-resistant lists earn their keep here.
Karst topography creates drainage unpredictability
Karst ground drains erratically — watch where water goes in a hard rain before siting beds, and mound up where it lingers.
For cultivar selection, pest pressure, and planting-time guidance specific to Kentucky, the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension is the authoritative local source.
Safe to Grow Here?What the federal record shows across Kentucky — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across Kentucky — 25,103 documented sites across 8 of the 9 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 219 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
Kentucky carries one of the heavier federal records we track — and that's not a verdict on your yard. Proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis: nothing here says any particular parcel is affected. It does earn one concrete step — before food beds go in the ground, a professional soil test tells you exactly what you're working with, and raised beds with clean imported soil grow well almost anywhere in the meantime.
Severity Distribution
across Kentucky
Highest-Severity Sites
A note from Gnorman
What an experienced grower watches for around here
In and around Kentucky, two things run higher than the national average across Kentucky — Underground Storage Tanks (16,761 sites) and PFAS (221 sites). Knowing it is half the work — and it's nothing a thoughtful grower can't plan for.
Underground Storage Tanks: Underground storage tanks are the single most common source of soil contamination near homes and gardens.
PFAS: PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are called "forever chemicals" because they do not biodegrade.
Use raised beds with imported soil — this eliminates the primary soil-contact pathway.
Test irrigation water source — this is the primary pathway for PFAS to reach garden crops.
Sources: EPA, USGS — 1.8M documented sites tracked nationwide across 9 federal source types.
Everything above resolves to Kentucky as a whole — a state whose own counties record seasons 50 days apart, and hardiness across zones 6a-7b. Your parcel sits at one point in that range, not in the middle of it. Slope, tree cover, a low spot that pools cold air, and what is in the soil are all resolved at the address, and none of them are visible at state scale. That is the honest boundary of this page, and the reason the next step is a reading of your own ground rather than a better statewide average.
State averages sketch the shape. Your soil, sun exposure, drainage, and microclimate decide what actually takes. Pull a site-specific report for your exact parcel.
Enter your address. We read your soil, sun, drainage, and frost dates, then score 1,086 plants against the real conditions on your land.
Three things about your lot that Kentucky averages can't show:
We read public map data around Kentucky — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Kentucky average
The datasets: hardiness from the USDA ARS Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023, read per county and aggregated to the state band; the growing season from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS 1991–2020 28°F normals, read at each county’s own record; rainfall from NOAA Climate Normals; soils from USDA NRCS SSURGO; boundaries from US Census TIGER/Line 2025; the contamination record from the federal sources named in that beat above. Where a county carries no record of its own, it is absent from the figure rather than filled in.
Kentucky spans USDA hardiness zones 6a-7b — which is to say winter's coldest night runs from about −10°F to 10°F depending where in Kentucky you are, averaged over 1991–2020 (USDA PHZM 2023).
Almost never — the real question is what to plant next. Across Kentucky, cool-season planting typically opens about four weeks before the local last hard freeze — county medians put that freeze near Mar 31, with the middle half of counties between Mar 27 and Apr 2 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). Tender transplants wait two to three weeks past it, and fall planting counts back from first freezes mostly between Nov 4 and Nov 10 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. A long window like this one runs successions deep into fall — and even its last weeks take quick greens and garlic.
Across Kentucky, the middle half of counties see their last hard freeze (28°F) between about Mar 27 and Apr 2, with a county median near Mar 31 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). That marks the hard freeze, not the last light frost — lighter frosts keep biting past it, which is why tender transplants here wait until about Apr 21.
Measured between 28°F hard freezes, growing seasons across Kentucky's counties mostly run about 216 to 227 days, with a county median near 221 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). Tender crops get a somewhat shorter practical window, since lighter frosts reach a few weeks past the hard-freeze dates on both ends.
Kentucky's zones 6a-7b support a wide range — strong performers include Pawpaw, Tomato, Blackberry, Redbud, and Kentucky Bluegrass. What actually takes on any one site comes down to its soil, sun, and drainage, and we score each plant against the real conditions at your address.
Officially, Kentucky spans USDA zones 6a-7b (USDA PHZM 2023) — but a zone is a 30-year average of winter's coldest night across an area, and it can't see any one yard. A south-facing slope, a tree line, or a low frost pocket can shift a single site by half a zone either way, which is why neighboring gardeners often quote different numbers. We read the conditions at your exact address — soil, sun, slope, and frost — and score 1,086 plants against what's actually there.
The federal record across Kentucky runs heavier than most — 25,103 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (16,761) — so test the soil before planting food in the ground, and raised beds with clean imported soil grow well in the meantime. Even here, proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis of any one yard; the contamination map shows exactly what's recorded and where.
Start with three facts. Kentucky spans USDA zones 6a-7b, which sets what survives winter; last hard freezes range from about Mar 27 to Apr 2 across its counties (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and 25,103 documented sites sit on the federal record here, so a soil test before food beds is the smart first step. From there, matching plants to your actual soil and sun is the fun part.
Everything above is measured at Kentucky's scale — its 6a-7b band and its 221-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Kentucky's numbers: we read soil, sun, drainage and frost at your exact address. Try it for 14 days — no card required.
6 of the readings below were taken at Kentucky's own scale — the full zone 6a-7b span inside its borders, the 4 soil types that dominate its ground and 25,103 documented sites on its federal record; anything it cannot resolve at this scale is named below.
Measured here
What this page can’t tell you
Explore growing conditions by county — each has its own zone range and land area.
Explore growing conditions by city or town in Kentucky.
Kentucky shares its dominant growing region with these states — a useful comparison if you're weighing where a crop will behave the same way.
