Native Evergreen Plants in Kentucky

Native shrubs, groundcovers, and ferns that hold their leaves through winter for year-round green, screening, and cover. For Kentucky, the right natives are shaped by Bluegrass, Cumberland Plateau & Pennyroyal and a humid, four-season climate. Every species below, from Crossvine and Foamflower to the rest of the list, is genuinely native to Kentucky and the wider flora of the Southeast and hardy through zones 6–7. Evergreen natives carry the garden through the bare months, giving structure, privacy, and winter shelter for birds when the deciduous plants have dropped their leaves. Site broadleaf evergreens out of harsh winter wind and afternoon sun to prevent leaf scorch, and water them deeply going into a dry fall so they enter winter fully charged.

6 native species for Kentucky

Each one native to your region and hardy in zones 6–7 · see this collection in other states.