Louisville, KY Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

Native plants — oak, dogwood, redbud, eastern red cedar, purple coneflower, black-eyed Susan — are increasingly recognized as valuable for pollinators and stormwater performance. Louisville MSD offers stormwater credits and incentive programs for bioretention areas, rain gardens, and native plantings that reduce runoff. Louisville Grows, a nonprofit partner, subsidizes tree plantings for residents in the urban services district. Despite these incentives, there is no mandate requiring native species in standard residential landscaping. The tension comes from LMCO Chapter 156 property maintenance rules, which prohibit rank vegetation and unmaintained weeds — commonly interpreted as grass over 10 to 12 inches. Naturalized meadow gardens and prairie-style landscapes can be misread as neglect, and residents may want to document their planting plan or maintain clear edges, signage, or mulched borders to demonstrate intentional design. HOAs in newer Louisville subdivisions often require turf lawns and may restrict xeriscape or meadow styles. Historic districts have Landmarks Commission latitude over front-yard landscaping.