What Grows in Westport, Kentucky

USDA Zones 7a · 516 acres

Westport, Kentucky, sits in USDA hardiness zone 7a — a band that supports both cool-season staples and warm-season crops chosen to fit the local frost window.

Expect cabbage, hazelnut, california poppy, and collard greens to be strong candidates here; the deciding factors on any one parcel stay local — soil, sun, and drainage.

Score your parcel · free

Even in Westport, no two yards are alike.

A low spot, a south-facing slope, or a stand of trees moves the frost date and sun across a single Westport lot. 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 Westport — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

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Westport — the short answer

Westport, Kentucky: USDA zone 7a, about 222 days between hard freezes, across 516 acres of town.

USDA zone
7a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Mar 30
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Nov 7
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~222
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Town area
516 acres
US Census TIGER/Line 2025

Every figure names the dataset it came from. Hard-freeze dates are this town’s own 28°F normals: light frosts run a few weeks past them, and tender transplants usually wait 2–3 weeks after the last hard freeze.

Hardiness Zone Range

7a7a
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 7a is Westport's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Westport's 222-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Westport

Each reading below is measured for Westport itself — here is what it means for a garden here, and the move an experienced grower makes about it.

Season length

Measured

Westport runs about 222 days between hard freezes — a long growing season.

There is slack for succession plantings and slow-finishing crops: many vegetables can be sown twice, and the heat-lovers have time to ripen fully.

Plan a second sowing of quick crops after the first comes out, and use the fall window most gardeners let sit idle.

NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals

Winter hardiness

Measured

Westport sits in USDA hardiness zone 7a.

The zone sets which perennials, shrubs, and fruit trees live through an average winter here — a plant rated for a colder zone is a safe bet, one rated warmer needs winter protection or gets treated as an annual.

Match perennials and fruit to the zone before you buy, so nothing you plant is a gamble against the cold.

USDA PHZM 2023

The kind of country Westport is in

Westport sits in the Interior Plateau — EPA Level III, inside the wider Eastern Temperate Forests. That is read at Westport's own centroid rather than borrowed from Oldham County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Westport

Every plant below cleared Westport's own zone 7a and its 222-day season. Each card opens that plant's Kentucky profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in KentuckyZones 2–11Westport's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
Kentucky hazelnut guideZones 4–9Westport's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in KentuckyZones 6–10Westport's 7a — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Kentucky growing notesZones 2–11Westport's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
pawpaw, photograph
Growing pawpaw in KentuckyZones 5–9Westport's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Kentucky lavender guideZones 5–8Westport's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in KentuckyZones 2–10Westport's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
pecan, photograph
Pecan: Kentucky growing notesZones 5–9Westport's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in KentuckyWestport's 222 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
Kentucky kale guideZones 2–11Westport's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
prickly pear, photograph
Prickly pear in KentuckyZones 5–10Westport's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Lentil: Kentucky growing notesZones 2–11Westport's 222 days clear the ~70 it needs.
apple, photograph
Growing apple in KentuckyZones 3–8Westport's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
okra, photograph
Kentucky okra guideZones 2–12Westport's 222 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in KentuckyZones 2–11Westport's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: Kentucky growing notesZones 3–10Westport's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in KentuckyZones 2–11Westport's 222 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
Kentucky apache plume guideZones 5–11Westport's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in KentuckyZones 3–8Westport's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Kentucky growing notesZones 3–8Westport's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in KentuckyWestport's 222 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
Kentucky holly guideZones 5–11Westport's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
Virginia creeper, photograph
Virginia creeper in KentuckyZones 3–9Westport's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: Kentucky growing notesZones 6–8Westport's 7a — 1 zone of cold margin.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in KentuckyZones 3–9Westport's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
Kentucky ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Westport's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in KentuckyZones 2–7Westport's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: Kentucky growing notesZones 4–10Westport's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Japanese millet, photograph
Growing japanese millet in KentuckyZones 5–10Westport's 222 days clear the ~45 it needs.
Eastern gamagrass, photograph
Kentucky eastern gamagrass guideZones 5–9Westport's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Westport?

Rarely: the season closes in stages, not all at once, and each stage has its crops. Cool-season crops can go in from around Mar 2; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Mar 30 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Nov 7 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. With a season this long, “too late” mostly means “switch crops” — second sowings and a full fall garden are the norm, with garlic closing the year.

Documented around Westport

Survey cells within 31 miles of Westport checked for spotted lanternfly, none carrying a detection — a surveyed negative, not an absence of looking. Nearest documented record 33 miles off. What to watch for.

What's on the federal record near Westport

Closest first, within ~10 miles of Westport. Listing isn't leaking, and distance isn't exposure.

  1. KY0930333 OLDHAM 842 PRODUCTION WELL 11Nitrate · 350 ft
  2. Westport General StoreUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.9 mi
  3. OLDHAM COUNTY WATER DISTRICTPFAS · 1.5 mi
  4. D18A0038Nitrate · 3.9 mi
  5. WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP WATERPFAS · 4.1 mi
  6. NEW WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOLBrownfields · 4.1 mi
  7. 62 COUNTRY GROCERYUnderground Storage Tanks · 4.2 mi
  8. SUNSET VILLAGE BUSHMANS LAKE & MARINAUnderground Storage Tanks · 4.3 mi
  9. Liberty Elementary SchoolUnderground Storage Tanks · 4.6 mi
  10. Kerlin GarageUnderground Storage Tanks · 5.0 mi
  11. Skylight CenterUnderground Storage Tanks · 5.4 mi
  12. Henry Co Water District 2Underground Storage Tanks · 5.5 mi

6 more sites are on the record inside the same radius. See them on the map

Measured from Westport's center, not your beds. Run your own address for what's upwind of you specifically.

Environmental Intelligence

The counts behind that headline — every source type on the record near Westport.

Total Sites

136

within ~10 miles of Westport

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

3 Superfund sites (none NPL-listed)

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Westport

High1Moderate52Low83

Highest-Severity Sites

Arelco Plastics Fabricating
Superfund · Superfund (Non-NPL)
Bluegrass LLC
Toxics Release Inventory · 4003wblgrs395cm
Baptist Health La Grange
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Buckner Express
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Carriage House Fructose
Superfund · Superfund (Non-NPL)

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Westport, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Westport — PFAS (4 sites) and Superfund (3 sites). That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.

PFAS: PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are called "forever chemicals" because they do not biodegrade.

Superfund: Superfund sites represent the most severe contamination in the federal system.

Test irrigation water source — this is the primary pathway for PFAS to reach garden crops.

Commission professional soil testing before any food production (test for heavy metals, VOCs, and SVOCs).

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Westport

Get exact proximity distances to contamination sources for your specific parcel — plus soil, sun, drainage, and 1,086 plant recommendations.

25+ data sources read at your address, not the Westport average

Your land is one point inside Westport

Everything above resolves to Westport as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 516 acres. Your parcel is one point inside that footprint. 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 town 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 local average.

Your Lot vs the Westport Average

Westport Average

  • USDA Zones 7a, averaged across Westport
  • One soil character for all of Westport
  • Frost dates read at Westport's scale: Mar 30 to Nov 7

YOUR Parcel

  • Your exact zone, not Westport's 7a
  • Your SSURGO soil type & pH
  • Your sun exposure, cast in 3D

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Westport

Pull a site-specific report for your exact address in Westport, Kentucky — soil, sun, drainage, frost risk, and scored plant recommendations.

Three things about your lot that Westport averages can't show:

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Westport averages 222Your sun & shade

We read public map data around Westport — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

25+ data sources read at your address, not the Westport average

How we know this about Westport

The datasets: hardiness from the USDA ARS Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023, read at this town’s own centroid; hard-freeze dates from NOAA 1991–2020 28°F normals at Westport’s own record; boundaries and acreage from US Census TIGER/Line 2025; the contamination records from the federal sources named in their beats above. Soil is not read at town grain anywhere on this page — there is no town-resolution survey in our data, which is why you will find no soil grid here rather than a statewide one wearing a local label. The resolution ledger below names every figure this page inherited.

Common questions about Westport

When does frost risk typically end in Westport?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Westport typically lands around Mar 30, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — earlier than the light-frost dates most charts quote. 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 20.

When is the first frost in Westport?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Westport typically arrives around Nov 7, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 24, so the watching starts about Oct 8 — about 222 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Westport?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Westport sees about 222 frost-free days — roughly Mar 30 through Nov 7, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Apr 20 to Oct 24, about 187 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Westport?

The federal record around Westport is a meaningful one — 136 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (87), the nearest Nitrate record under a tenth of a mile out — so a soil test before new food beds is a sensible precaution here, not a reason to hold back from growing. Remember that proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis of any one yard; the contamination map shows exactly what sits where.

How do I protect my plants from frost in Westport?

From about Oct 8 the job here turns from planting to protecting — the last start even a 30-day crop can finish. As the season closes around the first 28°F hard freeze near Nov 7 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals), three moves buy time: row cover or an old sheet over tender plants on still, clear nights; water the soil the afternoon before a freeze, so it holds warmth overnight; and harvest tomatoes, peppers and basil before Nov 7. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Westport's scale — its 7a band and its 222-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Westport's numbers: we read soil, sun, drainage and frost at your exact address. Try it for 14 days — no card required.

What this page reads at Westport’s own scale

7 of the readings below were taken at Westport's own scale — its own ~222-day season between 28°F freezes, the 516 acres it covers and 136 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Westport's own USDA hardiness band, zones 7aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Westport's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Mar 30 and Nov 7 and the ~222-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 136 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Westport, the closest Nitrate record under a tenth of a mile out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Westport's boundary and the 516 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 7a and a ~222-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Westport's own centroid, the Interior PlateauUS EPA Level III Ecoregions
  • Lanternfly survey cells around Westport checked, none carrying a detectionlydemapr (De Bona & Helmus), 10 km survey lattice

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Westport's 516 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Oldham County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Oldham County
  • The growing challenges every Kentucky grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom Kentucky
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Oldham County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Westport's 516 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Westport you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 516 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Nitrate record under a tenth of a mile out, measured from the town centrehow we read the record
  • Where cold air settles, which slopes face the sun, and which way the wind runs on your own ground — measured at your address, and averaged away by any Westport-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address