Rubber Mulch For Landscaping — A Good Or Bad Idea?
Have you used rubber mulch in your landscaping? I’ve been thinking about it, and I’d love to know what you think about it. This is the year I’m finally going to start doing some landscaping on our property. I don’t think that this is the year that I’ll make huge progress in that area since I have some other huge projects to focus on. Specifically, a great deal of this year will be focused on our bedroom suite. But at the very least, I’d love to mark off some planting beds in certain areas and get those areas marked off, weed-free, and mulched. And then maybe I’ll buy a few trees and shrubs and get those planted.
My main goal for this year in the area of landscaping will be to focus on the planting beds around the front and sides of the house, the planting bed around my workshop, and the areas lining the front sidewalk and driveway. As I’ve mentioned many times, landscaping is not my wheelhouse. I feel so lost and completely out of my element when I start thinking about these projects, but I’m excited to step outside of my comfort zone, get my hands in some dirt, and give it my best effort.
Thankfully, I won’t be winging it without a plan or vision. If you’ll remember, Matt bought me a consultation with a local landscape designer for my birthday a couple of years ago, and that designer came back with a gorgeous plan for me. That landscape plan was so pretty that I had it printed as large as possible (a free gift from a very generous reader!), and I framed it for the wall of my studio. (You can see that project here.) When I sit at my desk, that landscape plan is directly in front of me, so I get to admire it every single day.
I’m going to try to stick with this plan as closely as I can, but I’m sure I’ll be making some tweaks along the way. The designer did exactly what I wanted and asked for, but practically speaking, my dream for our property that I shared with him is probably way out of our price range. But I’ll use this plan as my guide and get as close as I can within our budget.
If you want to see details of that landscaping plan, you can see that here: Landscape Design Plan, One Acre Lot, Zone 8
But here’s the overall view of the plan…
Like I said, it’s ambitious. 😀 But I’m just going to start with baby steps. And marking off some planting beds and getting those weed-free and mulched seems like a baby step I can handle this year.
A couple of weeks ago, I was actually trying to decide between mulch and pea gravel, and I wanted to get an idea of what types of bed liners were available. So I headed to Lowe’s and Home Depot to see what they had. As far as lining the edges of the beds, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this picture ever since I saw it about a year ago.
Those faux rocks from Grandin Road (affiliate link) are so pretty, and it’s exactly the look I want for at least some of the beds. But I also want to line the entire walking path around our 1-acre property with those, and at the cost of $180 for every 14 rocks, that would be ridiculously expensive. That’s one reason my mom and I want to try our hand at making our own faux rocks when the weather gets nicer (which I talked about here). I’ve been saving every cardboard box I can get my hands on since we came up with that plan. And for my walking path, I’ve decided to use crushed granite.
But while I was at Home Depot and Lowe’s to see what was available to cover planting beds, I came across this rubber mulch.
I’m sure I’ve heard of this before, but I just didn’t think anything of it or log it into my memory because it wasn’t something I was interested in at the time. But since I was specifically looking for something to cover planting beds, I was like, “Wait! What? Rubber mulch? That’s a thing?!“
I love so many things about this. First and foremost, I love that rich, dark color. It comes in several colors, but the dark brown is what caught my eye. I love that it doesn’t have to be replaced each year. I love that it won’t decompose. And I love that it’s made from recycled materials that are kept out of the landfills. What I didn’t love about it is that this particular one is chunks of rubber. Plus, I wondered if rubber would leach something into the ground that would or could be harmful to plants or humans.
So I kind of filed that idea in the back of my mind and moved on. But last night I came back to it because now that the front steps of my workshop are finished (you can see those here if you missed that post), I’m anxious to nail down a plan for the beds around the workshop and the walking path from the workshop steps to the carport. Here’s the general idea of what this area will eventually look like…
Of course, it won’t be exactly like that. You can see that in the design, the walking path goes from the side of a front porch in front of the workshop to the area between the workshop and the carport. The plan was clearly designed for a building that sits right at ground level. In reality, the workshop sits 15 inches off of the ground, so instead of a little porch in front, I have steps. And instead of a level concrete area between the carport and the workshop, I have a ramp.
So the walking path will need to come off of the front of the steps instead of the side, and it will need to go directly to the carport instead of the ramp. But those are minor adjustments. The overall plan can still take shape, including that cute little freestanding round deck off of the front left corner of the workshop.
But back to that rubber mulch. With that idea in mind, I searched online last night to see what other brands and types were available, and I came across this shredded rubber mulch.
Now that’s more like it! That looks exactly like real mulch, right?! It’s so much better than those chunks of rubber. And yes, the upfront cost is a lot more than regular mulch, but the product description says that it maintains it’s color for twelve years. TWELVE YEARS!! And it actually has a 12-year color warranty. That’s a whole lot of time saved when compared to having to re-mulch planting beds each year.
The company says it doesn’t attract pests or ants like wood mulch can. (Again, I have no experience with real mulch to know if it does or doesn’t attract pests, so I’m just passing along what they say.) They claim it conserves ground moisture and can reduce water usage up to 30%, which sounds great for an area like central Texas with our scorching hot, dry summers. They say it doesn’t fade, rot, or compress. It doesn’t require any maintenance. And best of all, they claim it’s non-toxic and safe for humans, animals, and the environment. The description says it “does not release any chemicals into the Earth during its lifetime.”
I can’t see a downside for using rubber mulch other than the upfront cost. But all of those other things seem to make it worth that initial price. Right? And while it doesn’t have very many customer reviews on the website, the few customer reviews are all glowing reviews with 5-star ratings. In fact, one of the reviews says that this doesn’t aggravate allergies or asthma like wood mulch can, and another one says it looks and feel like real wood mulch.
So, what say you about rubber mulch? Have you used it? Were you pleased with it? Did it last? And if you’ve used it, what brand did you use? I’d love to know your thoughts and experiences because it sounds so good that I’m ready to make a purchase. But as always, I like to get opinions on this stuff (especially in these areas that are so outside of my areas of expertise and knowledge) before jumping in with both feet on something like this. Is rubber mulch a good idea? Are there any downsides that they’re not sharing? Tell me everything you know and have experienced with rubber mulch.
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
When you read the packaging and website for rubber mulch companies, remember that they are in the business of selling rubber mulch and as such, everything they say should be taken with a grain of salt. Here’s what a horticulture researcher from Washington State Univ. has to say. https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/403/2015/03/rubber-mulch.pdf Personally I don’t want sulfer, carbon black, and oils in my yard as none of these provide any benefit for plants.
The workshop looks so cute and I know it’s tempting to plant the area to increase the cottage effect, but when will you be building the addition? Contruction crews aren’t known for being easy on the homeowner’s landscape. I’d work on the beds next to the front of the house and leave the others until the addition and patio are done. Add some pretty potted plants around the steps of the workshop and back door that you can move around if necessary.
I don’t want to wait until we do the addition because there’s no scheduled date on that, and I want to finish caulking and painting the skirting and steps on the workshop, but I don’t want to do that until I have a plan in place to control the dirt splashing up onto the skirting. I know that gutters will help tremendously, and I will be adding those eventually, but for now, I need a quick solution.
Kristi,
I can understand the desire to have a dark brown mulch–it really does look beautiful, like a forest floor–but please don’t use rubber mulch. It’s basically pollution in a bag. The purpose of mulch is to prevent weeds, preserve soil moisture, encourages earthworms and add nutrients to the soil. Over time, wood mulch can make your soil healthy and rich and so easy to work with. Rubber mulch will never do that. It also gets hot in our summer sun, which is bad for the plants and the worms. Dense planting is best for weed prevention as well.
As far as ants and other insects, a healthy garden should have them. Fire ants can be discouraged by stirring diatomaceous earth into their mounds. Termites can be discouraged by not having mulch right up against the building.
Decomposed granite works much better than pea gravel for paths. Pea gravel is rounded and does not stay in place. You’ll be picking it out of grass and your beds forever. It’s also unstable for walking. Decomposed gravel compresses and locks in place and is really good for walking, and wheeling, paths.
Metal edging, though boring, works best for edging. It keeps mulch in and helps keep grass out. Hide it with real river rocks if you like. Without it you’ll be fighting grass in the rocks constantly.
Howard Garrett’s The Dirt Doctor website is great for info about Texas gardening.
Forgive me if I sound like I’m lecturing, I’m passionate!
Some thoughts, Kelly (Gardener in N. Texas)
Excellent advice, Kelly! I didn’t think about wheeling things around on pea gravel and you’re right it does shift. I also forgot about the heat build up even with dark wood mulch &:that’s a very real issue. But the rubber is too pricey, unstable and in the end a petroleum product. I don’t know what they put in the colors mulch but doubtful it’s found in Nature🌿
Kelly is 100% correct on all points!
Kelly has great advice!
Avid lifelong gardener here: real mulch has tremendous benefits for your soil, and the plants living in your soil! Think of a forest – there’s a yearly cycle of leaves and bark and branches falling to the forest floor that decomposes and feeds the plants around it. Rubber mulch cannot come anywhere close to replicating those benefits.
But, real mulch does break down over time (this is part of what makes it good for your soil!) So it does need to be replaced every year or two – a healthy garden is not a ‘one and done’ set up, but an ongoing commitment. I say this not to discourage, but to give a realistic view of the work a health, beautiful garden entails 🙂
All that being said – sure, use the rubber mulch if you want a ‘one and done’ mulch (or at least a ‘once a decade’ and done). But your garden won’t be as healthy and lush as your beautiful inspiration pictures.
I echo all the sentiments above!
Wood mulch breaks down but it has lots of benefits, like helping the soil and seeds will grow in it, so you will get volunteer plants too. In my area, tree guys are willing to drop their chipped wood for free if you’re willing to get a big load and have a way to move it. Sometimes communities have municipal yard waste drop offs that have free chipped wood mulch. The bulk undyed shredded mulch is more even in color and shape if you don’t prefer wood chips.
I have wood mulch in many areas. And if leaves get into it, it’s fine as they break down and become dirt too.
I agree! 12 years ago, we bought a house with an already-filled-in pool. We put a playset on it and rubber mulch so the kids could play barefoot without splinters. While it doesn’t stink any longer (unless it’s really hot, then you can still smell it), it collects every pine cone, needle, and leaf and NEVER LETS THEM GO. The salesman said it would be easy to clean because the mulch was heavier and the leaves and stuff would blow right off. Ha! It’s honestly terrible. Nothing grows in the planter areas, either, and on top of that, the dog poops there and because it’s rubber, it just stays.
And if a dog poops there,I imagine a cat would do the same. Years ago, we spied a neighbor’s cat, who spent time outdoors, pooping in the sand around a neighborhood playground swingset. She, as a typical fastidious cat, buried her refuse. We didn’t have kids at the time, but we alerted our neighbor to that particular event. Other events likely occurred.
My mom is an avid gardener. She used rubber mulch in the flower beds around her front porch…it looked beautiful but the neighbor’s cat promptly used it as a litter box. All the hosing down & midwest thunderstorms didnt eliminate that smell. The only way to get rid of it is to completely replace it.
We used rubber mulch under a swingset, but had to carefuly sift through it to remove pieces with sharp “radial” wires. We never got them all–we kept “finding” those little sharp pieces, ouch! And yes, for some reason, cats LOVED to poop in it.
It looks great but the only downsides I do know about it are, 1) it doesn’t breakdown and create great soil (the reason people use it & keep topping it off, it builds up poor soil). 2) It tends to float around if you ever get a big down pour of rain or a lot of wind. But you remedy that easily as well by treating with a product called Mulch Lock. Its like a “hair spray” for mulch if you will. You spray it on and it lasts for up to a year at time. Also great for keeping pea gravel in place as well. But overall besides the two reasons listed above, if you are not using it for those, I think it’s a great idea! I’ve thought about adding it around certain areas myself. My son is an arborist by trade so he brought me 2 huge truck loads of cedar mulch last summer for my fenced side yard where my dogs are and also my 4 raised garden beds are. So we used commercial sized weed blocker with u pins to cover all the scrubby weedy grass. Now its lovely cedar chips. It looks so nice and it also repels insects! I love it! But I think I will check into the rubber mulch for the small flower bed area along my garage. I wont ever have to keep topping that off or as you mentioned…at least for the next 12 yrs! woot woot!!
My experience is limited to p
layground use so it may not apply, but the significant downside for me is that in the Texas heat, this stuff gets HOT! And as a bonus, it smells just like burning rubber! 😅 It may not be a problem in shady areas but just something to keep in mind if you plan to use it in full sun and areas that you want to spend a lot of time in.
Yes! We used to live in Florida, and my kids’ preschool playground used rubber mulch. I don’t remember the smell (probably because I wasn’t there during the day!), but they did complain about the heat. The bits used to get inside their clothes and shoes and they would bring some home with them (by accident) every single day. That wouldn’t be as much of a problem if you’re not rolling in it like a preschooler (ha!) but you still wouldn’t want to track it throughout your lawn if you have to step into the beds to do something, since it wouldn’t decompose like regular mulch if a few pieces escape.
Rubber mulch is a big NO from me. Our church had the flower beds done with it and it was the worst smell ever, they ended up taking it all up. What a mess.
Would beg you not to use rubber mulch – an environmental disaster on so many levels already noted by others.
Re: Pea gravel — this might be good for a narrow border around your workshop to help with drainage and splatter but it is not good for planting beds. If you change your mind about the bed, what is in it, its shape, etc, you have to remove the gravel and that is time consuming, tedious, and it is almost impossible to get it all out of the soil. Have done it. Will never use gravel or stones as mulch again. Ever. Use the most natural thing you can find for mulch, not dyed, and it breaks down and enriches the soil. Add some more every year or every other year so it remains thick enough to prevent weeds. Cocoa shells are expensive but they are dark and look great, especially when first laid down. All mulches fade over time but they keep beds looking neat and help the plants pop (visually) even if a bit faded.
Don’t use coco shells around pets. I did ( before I had a dog) and while the smell was like being inside a Hershey bar, my neighbor could no longer come over with his dog. It’s poison for pets!
Thanks so much for that info.
Our house came with lava stone mulch and it was such a pain to remove it, as we had to get it regraded. Even worse, there was thick black landscape fabric underneath. Some years later we finally got it all thrown away.
Now it’s wood mulch.
The rubber mulch in my garden ended up getting so hot in the Colorado sun that it killed the plants it was protecting. Also, it always had the chemical smell of rubber, and the chunks were light enough to be displaced from wind. From a distance it looked nice, but close-up it looked unnatural.
I threw it all out and replaced everything with naturally pine-smelling wood chips for a more natural garden.
My first thought now is cost and second I wouldn’t want it for my beds just because of that. I like the extra dark shredded stuff (when I used it.)
Then I’d research the heck out of it. It’s rubber so it’s a petroleum product.
My go to is pea gravel for anything I might walk on; I love the crunch!
And that ain’t cheap either! So in the end I’d ask your landscaper, and whatever articles you can find then budget accordingly.
It’s also a good idea to get the big items like trees and bigger bushes in first. I did this in my Ohio house as I did even my postage stamp lot in stages.
I am a lifelong gardener and I would never use rubber mulch. It smells bad, for YEARS. On the other hand, some mulches smell great or at least, never offensive. The heat factor will truly affect your plants, as well. Please don’t do it. If you are concerned about topping off wood mulch, you may not realize how much tending a garden needs.
It is horrible, please don’t use it!
As an avid gardener, I have to say please, please, please do not put rubber mulch on anything, except maybe, a shaded playground area. Every gardener I know uses compost and wood mulch, which improve your soil over time and aid the plants and pollinators. I’ve known several people who originally had rubber mulch that caused major problems when it heated up and fried the roots of their expensive perennials. When people go to remove it, they have a big problem with disposal and often have to pay a landfill to accept the bags of it, just like tire disposal.
Hey, Kristi,
I LOVE your shed! It looks so cozy and will only look better as you work your plan. Congrats!
As far as mulch goes, I have this to say: after gardening in the South for over 20 years, having done many beds and fought mountains of weeds, my take-away is to ALWAYS use 3″ of mulch in every bed. (I apologize if this is old news to you.). Disrupting the soil in prep releases all of the teeny weed seeds and can allow for a bumper crop of weeds to show up in your beautiful plant beds, and my husband and I have spent copious amounts of time trying to fight them off, usually lasting only 1 season and starting up again the next year. Our latest be had 3″ of mulch and I barely had to weed at all! It felt like a miracle. 🙂 The only other thing I want to say is that, according to a genius landscaper in my area, if you don’t prep the entire bed (I thought that was a MUST) and just dig holes for the new plants, the teeny weed seeds won’t have as much room to spread around, and the bed won’t have weeds popping up everywhere. Again, I apologize if this is old news.
As far as the material goes, especially if you want to use perenniels, I think that a real wood mulch is healthier for your garden. Yes, you have to replace it occassionally; yes, it can fade. But the nutrients it offers to the soil will do you a big favor in the long run.
Maybe you want to use rubber in select areas; maybe you want to do a trial this year. I hope that whatever you do will be just what you want!
o. Synthetic mulches hold heat, don’t retain moisture, not compatible with plant life.
Even black dyed wood mulches can be problematic. heat roots & plants.
It’s my understanding they put out toxic gas, abrade micro plastic into runoff too if you’re concerned about such things. Seems like they’ve regrouped on some of their playground usage.
Wood mulches are cooler, hold moisture but need additions, as they rot some things like biting gnats love to live in them.
Some landscape cloths block moisture, nutrients for good soil biome…. microbes, bugs, worms, decaying plant need.
River/crushed rocks also hold heat,
I haven’t figure out the perfect solution that is low maintenance AND makes plants happy.
o. contact your local aboretum, university, extension service for advice and confirmation about varieties, materials. They are pros to your specific area. They know best practices and plants.
o. Landscape professionals occasionally get things wrong.
Ours put river/sandy soil loving trees in our clay because they were interesting, they died.
Trees adjacent to cement drives/walks depriving their roots of moisture & nutrition. Sometimes this just stunts growth, others just eventually have short lives.
Trees suited to shorter winters than ours.
You get the idea.
o. Ask your university about particular diseases & problems currently in your area. We can’t anticipate what will be in the future but native species tend to do best. In our area we’re losing so many beautiful trees to Emerald Ash Borer. These professionals tend to be frank about helping you get an environment that will thrive. Even the smallest things can save you time & effort. I’m working on planting an orchard, want to avoid varieties prone to disease & blights.
o. Know your soil type
o. Local friends and neighbors in your area often have valuable information about favorites and problems.
o. Even companion planting…. or some plants/trees are toxic. An example here is black walnut trees or spillage of sunflower seeds from bird feeders. It all sounds kind of silly but our grass is dead under the feeders, they are toxic to other plants. Still, we love our birds but no longer planting sunflowers in our veggie garden.
o. 40 years of home ownership… landscaping, gardening and I am still learning so much. It’s all a great adventure. Got lots right but happily share so others avoid my mistakes. Removing/replanting mistakes is hard work and often expensive esp. trees.
o. Have fun.
Kristi, PLEASE, I beg of you, DO NOT use rubber mulch in your garden! It is nothing but nasty chemicals that leach into your soil. The last thing you want is to eat fruit or veggies that have been growing in and absorbing those chemicals!
This is a quick-read article about the hazards of rubber mulch:
https://www.finegardening.com/article/its-red-its-rubber-is-it-safe-for-your-garden
Please allow me to respond directly to some of your comments:
“I love that rich, dark color.” You can get that color from actual wood mulch too.
“I love that it doesn’t have to be replaced each year.” Mulch is supposed to break down to enrich your soil. I don’t replace my wood mulch every year either. Rubber mulch will just leach chemicals into the soil. Also it is a huge fire hazard. Heaven forbid it catches on fire—it is very difficult to extinguish because it is petroleum-based.
“I love that it won’t decompose.” It will eventually break down from sun exposure while adding more chemicals to your soil. Your plants will NOT do well in this environment. So all the money you spend on plants could be wasted since they will be living in a toxic environment.
“I love that it’s made from recycled materials that are kept out of the landfills.” Please don’t make your yard/garden a landfill!
“I wondered if rubber would leach something into the ground that would or could be harmful to plants or humans.” The EPA says that rubber mulch is “safe” for pets and humans, but I personally don’t trust that or rubber mulch.
“The company says it doesn’t attract pests or ants like wood mulch can.” What? I have been gardening for many years and have never experienced that here in Colorado.
‘“The description says it “does not release any chemicals into the Earth during its lifetime.”’ BULL! I don’t believe that for a second!
Contact a landscape materials company, and you can order large quantities of mulch delivered to your house if you would like to cover large areas at one time.
Also, please plant and then mulch if you can. If you mulch then plant, you will discover that you need to mulch again!
A note about pea gravel: I spent ten years of my life sifting OUT pea gravel because previous owners put it around the perimeter of the house 2 feet wide. Of course it got settled into the soil, they added more, so in most parts it was 2 feet deep as well. What a massive chore, so I hate pea gravel! But now I can dig a shovel into my cleaned-out soil and plant whatever I want to…and mulch with actual wood chips. I know yours is for a walkway, but having an adult child in a wheelchair, I know that it is extremely difficult to push her around in that stuff when the wheels sink into it.
Best of luck with your decisions!
I looked into rubber mulch for a short time but decided on a dark brown rock about the same size as the mulch so I wouldn’t have to replace it every year in a back flower bed. So from a distance it looks like mulch. Lowe’s and Home Depot carry different color rocks in different sizes. I used a pea gravel size in in my veggie garden to keep the weeds down but they are a little slippery, they sell a glue to secure them, I’m going to look into that for this summer to prevent from slipping
The best thing I’ve found for low maintenance weed prevention is native ground covers. I’m in Florida, so my options are quite a bit different, but I’d join some local native gardening groups on social media or browse the websites and check out the options. I have salvia misella in my front bed, surrounding 2 hibiscus bushes, Thai basil, and blue daze and it’s beautiful, smothering weeds (even dreaded torpedo grass) and not my plants. In the back I have native porterweed around my deck and it flowers purple edible flowers year-round and I haven’t had to pull a single weed there either. I also don’t need to water. And I always have bees and butterflies. Native plants are so awesome!
I so agree with a plant mulch. Artificial materials in the garden start to look dirty. I would go with real rocks or another kind of stone as edging. Second I would plant. Plants also shade the ground and prevent weeds. Then I would find a ground cover to substitute for a lot of mulch. I simply mulch a little around the edges to make it look nice but could skip that step also. You need a low maintenance garden since it is not your bag. You might look for some garden help in your area to get started. I would also only do the front for now. Gardeners are patient.
I agree with everyone else who has already posted about the inadvisability of using rubber mulch. If you use real wood mulch, your soil, your plants, your beloved backyard birds, your pets, you and your husband will all be safer and healthier for it. I would have extra concern about how the chemical off-gassing could negatively affect your husband’s medical situation. How awful would it be for you to spend all that money and time putting in rubber mulch, to find that the smell makes your husband sicker every time he goes outside?
About those faux edging stones: Have you gone to a landscape material company to see what they have and the prices for real rocks? You can get them to deliver mulch by the cubic yard, which is much, much cheaper than buying bags at your local Home Depot. And they have many different sized stones and gravel (and mulches!), so you can select the best ones for your different uses. The yards will also sell you a bag of stones, so you can take them home and try them out. I would expect that there is enough labor involved in laying a stone border without adding to the work by first needing to recreating them. And the real stones will always look much better, as well as last eons after the faux ones have fallen apart.
I’m a weirdo gardener. I use the cheapest wood mulch available (it’s light colored) and go 5” deep with it to deter weeds. I also overplant with bright annuals between my beloved perennials. The annuals fill in and deter weeds around the perennials, and allow the perennials to spread out and multiply without fighting weeds for space and nutrients. The result is a riot of insane color, a zillion bees and butterflies and birds, and not a lot of weeding. I’m in Missouri, and it gets stinking hot and humid in summer, and the lighter colored cheapie mulch stays cooler for the plants. You only really see the mulch while the plants are tiny, and at the end of the season when everything dies or goes dormant. I top off the old mulch every spring with an inch or so of fresh mulch (and expand my flower beds another foot or so because I hate grass, and adore flowers and shrubs). Takes about a day to spread out the fresh layer every spring. Super easy.
One more thing: I don’t use weed barrier. I use cardboard and newspaper under the mulch. Works great, breaks down and enriches the soil, and since I online shop, I’ve got tons of cardboard available at any given time.
NOooooo don’t do it! Rubber is rubber is petroleum is not for the environment. Real mulch does break down and become nutrients for your garden soil it’s an improvement or amendment-it’s a good thing!
I’ve used shredded rubber mulch for about 8 years or more. You have to get a couple bags every year cuz of animals and lawn mowers moving it around. But I love it, real mulch turned lighter when the sun hits it all summer this mulch does not. I go to Sam’s club and get mine, it comes in a bigger bags and it costs about $9.
Dear Kristi, I will add my voice to this wonderful choir advising you NOT to use the rubber mulch. Being a military spouse and having moved 16 times, I have gardened and landscaped in 16 fantastic locations, including Alaska, where I worked on the pipeline. PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS MULCH!!! My background in oil engineering and chemicals I could tell you horror stories about what its decomposition will do, when it finally gets around to decomposing. Think Exxon Valdez, only smaller. Check with your County Extension office, or with Baylor University, as they have a lot of information on their websites for folks who may be new to gardening, or new to Central Texas. Our farm sits in the middle of 250 acres of wilderness, and we have now managed in 13 years to get concrete all around the outside of the house, it’s prettier than it sounds. We have a metal roof, and no shrubbery save for some rose bushes and small flowering plants. As proof in California, and here in Tennessee, when Mother Nature wants to have a fire, what you have around your house can save your house. Good time for everyone to think about a fire plan and evacuation plan if you live somewhere that might just have a fire, which is pretty much everywhere these days.
They sell steel edging at Lowe’s and Home Depot, and that will help keep your mulch, whatever you choose, in place, you can always add your decorative rocks later, just a side note, growing up in Colorado, if you had rocks, you had snakes, it appears the same goes for Tennessee. I don’t mind the black snakes, but we had 5 copperheads last year, the most we had ever seen up here. Baby steps and remember if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Regular wood mulch is a recycled product that keeps wood out of the landfill, decomposes and enriches your soil. If you put down 6 inches, weeds are a thing of the past and you won’t be mulching for about 3-6 years. Pine straw is another good alternative but can be too acidic for some plants. I know this is a lot to take in. But you’ve got a great group of folks here to help with questions.
Cheers!
So I’d pause on the rubber mulch…
Think of it as choosing the landscaping clothes. What do you want out of it. There’s a lot of varrying awnsers, but knowing what feels like should define tge descion. There’s no perfect awnser honestly.
Minimum for areas you want to grow food. Don’t do it If they happen to have made it not off gas (sad news… everything degrades off-gasing is part of degradation).
Rubber holds a ton of heat, and darker colors can cause other surrounding materials to catch fire or overheat.
Mulch hold moisture which keeps the beds cooler for plants, rocks/rubber water flows thru it. Do use rock to manage/adjust moisture content. Yes that moisture attracts bugs at times.
Keeping to natural materials is efficient. Many good mulchs can last 2-4 years (currently verifying this observation, with a recent neigborhood mulch upgrade, so far 9 months in, I’m agreeing). There’ll be patches that will need topping up, but nothing like the inital application. If someone says every year, the same amount, they are wanting to take advantage of you.
As mulch breaks down it adds nutrients your soil . So less fertilizing for the plants to thrive. If you use rubber you’ll need to supplement things for them to fill out and grow at times.
Using rock to mulch is ok, but then it turns into digging in rock… and the plants missing out on nutrients.
If feeling strong about it I’d start a small area first. Then make the BIG investment. I bet you’ll find areas good for Wood, rubber, and rock in your plan.
Most rubber/plastic products if recycled HAVE to break down somehow. If it’s as durable and a specific color… it’s got a tightly controlled formula for product consistency. So it’s made from NEW materials mixed with a fraction of old for marketing. Some recycled products are just as wasteful as new product.
You’ve got a lot of good opinions on rubber mulch already. Also consider, eventually the color will fade (even if it is 12 years) and if you want to replace it with anything you’re going to have to take up the old rubber mulch first. That sounds like the most horrible job only second to taking up rock mulch when moving to wood mulch. I would never, ever put down a mulch alternative that I may have to take back up later. Will Kristi in 12 years be willing to do the back breaking labor of removing faded rubber mulch? Will Kristi in 12 years be willing to pay to have someone else do it?
If you want to try the rubber mulch, grab a bag or two and put it in a trial area with full sun (maybe the back side of the workshop?). See how hot it gets (which would be horrible for the eventual plants if it heats up). See if you think it smells bad. See what kind of fading/color change you get in a season or two. If you decide you love it, great–you can top the wood mulch in the your beds with it. If you decide you hate it, you don’t have so much to take up.
Also, I understand the desire to get some beds around the workshop to minimize the mud, but keep them very limited until you’re ready to plant. Weeds are going to grow. I don’t care what you put down…the weeds will grow on top of it (not nearly as many, granted). I’ve got weed fabric with gravel on top of a utility area, and have to weed it (or spray it) several times a year. Fully planting a bed is what will keep the weeds down long term. And one more thing–I dress my beds with compost instead of mulch. Something for you to look into maybe. I can get it in bulk at my local garden center like mulch.
I…..wouldn’t use rubber mulch. Part of the purpose of mulch is to keep the roots cool in the heat, and rubber holds heat instead of dispelling it, killing your plants faster. Also, the other benefit of mulch is that it decomposes over time. This is also a downside since it must be replenished, but that decomposition helps enrich the soil over time. I imagine rubber decomposes over time, too…..but probably not into something good. 😬
It’s wonderful to read all the answers from knowledgeable readers! I learn so much from them as well as your fun blog. This is my experience with rubber mulch: My 100 yr old house sits about three feet up off the ground. I needed to add more soil against the outside house walls to protect the basement from rain water after storms. It was the perfect solution and the basement is dry. Years ago I put rubber mulch over the added dirt to discourage cats and other animals, and any weeds that might want to grow as well as add a uniform look. It seems all living things hate it, and then there is the smell. It’s been years and the smell is gone and nothing grows there. I wouldn’t put it anywhere else.
Just no on the rubber mulch! It is not good for your soil or your plants, or beneficial in any way to the worms and soil life. It never breaks down and you can never get rid of it. I’m a gardener/landscaper.
*note: now that I recall, I didn’t get anything from ChipDrop! I called tree companies and secured wood chips on my own. The company I got a hold of just happened to be taking down a huge lot of eucalyptus trees, usually people wouldn’t want these, but they worked out for us!
This is very long be for warned 🤠
Hi Kristi, loved reading the responses to this post. I don’t have anything to add about rubber mulch.
Have you ever heard of ChipDrop? Tree service businesses drop off wood chips for free to your yard. There are some down sides: it’s random when they drop them off. The type of tree chips used are random (I got eucalyptus chips which I didn’t mind for what I used them for) and there can be a lot of tree litter mixed in. But it’s free! We were able to get some huge tree sections that we mulled for other things. It might be something cost effective for you.
Some of the suggestions mentioned are things that I have read or been exposed to, I.e. weed free gardening (putting plastic under mulch while not disturbing the ground to plant to limit weeds), Back by o Eden method of gardening (which can be applied to landscaping in my opinion) is a no/limited weeding and soil building method of gardening using layers of cardboard, paper under mulch.
We used this method as an experiment, placing layers of cardboard (a drug store had mini bundles I picked up once a week) and covered with 6” of wood chips! We not only didn’t have to weed for almost 3 years, it solved a bad gopher problem. Around the 3rd year the gopher ridges started appearing, which we smashed back down by walking over and it took about 5-10 minutes to pull tiny weeds/grass that had popped through.
We ended up making “slices” with the logs they dropped off (they asked if we wanted them) and used those to make borders. It worked out great for us an it was all free!
It may be worth looking into and may or may not work out for you.
Rubber is an oil product. They might be right that it won’t break down in your yard and poison it, but only because it won’t break down ever. It will be there when we’re all gone. Terrible for the environment. I’d steer clear.
Hi Kristi,
I live in Austin and we used to always use mulch. After 10 years we finally decided to go with river rock in our beds like to many of our neighbors. We had this put in two summers ago and it has worked out great. I would not use rubber mulch for many of the same reasons that other people have mentioned. Our lawn maintenace company suggested river rock rather than pea gravel because it doesn’t move around as much and sink into the ground.
No to rubber mulch – it gets smelly in the sun, it is too hot for humans or plant comfort, and it inevitably gets mixed into the top layer of dirt and grass so that you’re basically adding small amounts of rubber trash to your soil and yard forever.
I put down a weed fabric barrier before i covered it with about 4″ of the rubber mulch. It had a slight rubber smell right out of the bag, but once spread and aired out, there isn’t a smell at all!
I used the very same Vigoro rubber mulch in the bed in front of my house – I love all of its qualities and functions!!!
I still work full time and don’t want to spend hours weeding my beds in the 80° – 100° temps of our Central Oregon summers – as I have in the past – just a couple of hours wastes me for the rest of the day! I have many things I’d rather spend my time on!
The rubber mulch is the only mulch I’ll ever buy now!
I’m in the DON’T use camp! I’ve into landscaping for 25 years and about 5 years ago decided to try it in a separate area. It’s horrible, it gets very hot in the Summer, doesn’t help the soil or our plants.
In the Winter rain, it floated up into other areas, even went into some of our drains and clogged them up. We only use natural cedar materials now. On pathways, I like the small mulch specifically “cedar pathway” mulch. It has lasted several years and retained a reddish color. I removed some this year and mixed into a compost area.
Love your shed!
Please don’t use rubber mulch. For all of the reasons listed: pollution, bad for soil, benefits of natural etc. And speaking from experience, it also stinks. Especially in hot weather. When the sun hits that stuff it off-gases something terrible. Our town put bright blue rubber mulch in a children’s splash park and playground. It looked so pretty. Then complaints about the smell and kids with headaches started rolling in. It had to be removed. Natural is more work, but it spreads easily and if you lay it on thick enough it doesn’t have to be done every year. And it works much better than pea gravel for keeping weeds down. I have both and the gravel needs constant maintenance (weed seeds get down between the stones and sprout, even with landscape fabric underneath) but the mulch needs very little work except for adding some now and again.
Don’t use the rubber mulch. It is very bad for your soil because it raises soil temperature too high, doesn’t allow normal air flow or moisture flow, all of which are bad for your plants and don’t allow for healthy microbes and beneficial insects to live in the soil. Whenever you want to dig in the soil, you will be mixing the rubber into the soil. Also, I stinks in hot weather. Find the master gardeners in your area, and they can give you advice about what is best for your area. Usually natural materials like wood chips or pine straw are recommended unless you have a higher fire risk.
Kristi, when rubber mulch first came out thought it sa great idea. Well, after days of cleaning 4 large flower beds spent a lot of money on the rubber mulch. Planted a lot of border annuals and was very proud of the flower beds look. 2 weeks later all the annuals looked really sad. Then they all started dying. Not only that but our perannuals only tried to survive.
Seems the rubber mulch doesn’t allow much water through to plants. On top of that the mulch gets very hot and l live in Baton Rouge with summer temps very high. It was a disaster. I had to start all over in the hottest part of the year. Come to find out the rubber much is more intended for play areas and driveways or patio places. Not for plants. This was my experience and several friends had the same down here. So use your own judgement as you normally do. It did look good. In a bed with my water fountain and potted plants and statues. Hope you find the best mulch for your beds.
The one thing that stuck out to me when reading what you said from the company that produces this rubber mulch was ” it doesn’t compact”. That says to me that it would move about with every step, with every guest of wind, with every kick or shuffle of feet. I honestly see no good thing with this product in the home garden. It might be great in a commercial business landscape, where people, children and pets will not be congregating, but NOT around my home.
Rubber mulch deliberately contaminates good soil with microplastics and all sorts of chemicals. It will still break down eventually, not into soil, but into microcontaminants that will be impossible to ever fully remove.
It will impact and contaminate the soil for hundreds, if not thousands of years.
Purposely doing that, to avoid an act of biyearly maintenance that builds, supports, and feeds the soil (which real wood would do) will be viewed as insane, criminal, and borderline sociopathic by future generations.
Companies can claim anything they want but rubber mulch is a petro chemical that releases gasses into the air for you and your pet to breathe. It’s basically a silent health hazard. The smell alone should tell you that. And it will affect the soil. After all your efforts is this what you really want? Just consider all the years that we were sold that Round up was ok to use and now we find out that it causes cancer. Keep your garden a safe and healthy environment to enjoy.
Rubber mulch sounds like a plan. I have not seen or felt any, I sure would want the shredded. Anything is better than wood mulch. In our Waco, Texas area, wood mulch cries out for termites and they come running. Those little termites will eat up your workshop in nothing flat. We have our flowerbeds and Gary’s workshop sprayed regularly.
Now, what do you put under the rubber mulch to keep the little Texas weed from growing up between the shredded pieces……….and they will. How many layers of shredded mulch do you have to put down? How far will one bag cover? How many bags will you need? Measure and figure workshop flowerbeds all the way around the shop. Then give us an estimate just for the fun of it. We would like to know. Well, I would like to know. Do you get it cheaper the more bags you buy?
Your flowerbeds planned along the street are probably in the easement. You must think about that.
Have a great week.
I can certainly understand wanting to use something that will make your life easier. With rubber mulch not being organic, it will not break down, and nourish your soil and plants, which is beneficial for your plants health, rubber mulch will also be contributing to waste, it may contain chemical residues that can leach into your soil, leading to environmental contamination, it also retains heat. I would think, that with all of the effort that you are putting into having a beautiful landscape, that you would definitely want to consider what is best for all of the plants that you’ll be investing in. I’m a die-hard natural mulch user, I have not had any particular issues with pests and it really does your soil good. And as long as you put down a thick enough layer of natural mulch, it will help retain moisture for you plants. I apologize if I come across as surly, it’s just that I feel strongly about not adding non biodegradable products, or chemicals into nature. I’ve been gardening, and landscaping for two thirds of my 68 years.
And as far as getting going on your landscape, you may want to wait until all of your construction is complete. We just had our house resided, along with our old concrete porch being demolished, with a new porch built this past spring. And even with the landscape having been in for some time, and reminding the crew to please be mindful of, and careful around different elements, such as landscape lights, planting, etc., all of my perennials in their path took a beating, plus I had to redo my entire stepping stone front walkway. No sense in creating more anxiety, and work for yourself.
You want a beautiful garden, components of which are suitable plants in pleasing arrangements that will grow strong and healthy and complement the yard. Rubber mulch will do NONE of that. It is made of RUBBER, which is about as non-organic, stinky, and ultimately harmful to the soil as is possible. You live in Texas, where temperatures are high. I imagine that your plants might well be cooked in their mulch bed rather than nourished.
Gardening is hard and dirty work that produces amazing beauty out of dirt, compost, bugs, manure, air, and living greenery. I haven’t found a way to make it easier and I’ve been gardening for forty+ years. Plastic, harvested rubber, synthetics; these are not found in nature and don’t belong in a garden. My sister just moved into a new house and spent thousands removing the gravel mulch, which is too hot, captures leaves and sticks, and ends up in the grass ruining the lawn mower. Use regular bark or wood mulch, which does break down but enriches and aerates the soil as it does so. The best gardens work with nature, not against it.
I use dark rubber mulch and I do love it. I got so tired of putting down wood mulch and having it look good for a few weeks then fading and then eventually going away only to have to do it again the next year. I had enough of the work and wanted something more permanent that kept it’s color.
You Dream about a beautiful garden but I doubt that you will achieve this by using fake plants, fake stones and fake mulch. Think about the insects, birds and all the other wonderful creatures that could thrive in your garden if you create biodiversity with lots of different trees, bushes and plants. I am from Danmark and I have never heard about these products and I am pretty sure that if you used it, your property would be classified as Contaminated! Please, please do not use it
Please do regular mulch. Rubber mulch is quite awful for the environment and the plants it’s supposed to cover. You can get free mulch through ChipDrop, if cost is the main consideration, but it will be completely natural, undyed mulch. You can basically use a pump sprayer to dye the top layer of mulch with essentially food dye, if it being dark is very important to you.
Hi,
I’m late to the party but wanted to comment on the rock border. We briefly lived in the south and there are companies that do concrete rock garden borders/edging. As it’s extruded, they add colors and form the shape of the “rocks”. So many options!
We had it done and loved it!!