There are lots of garden products that are aesthetically pleasing and billed as helpful, but some of these products are unnatural additions to your yard. Landscape fabric and rubber mulch, for example, are often made from plastic and can cause more harm than good.
Landscaping company Summit Lawns (@summitlawns) posted on TikTok warning followers against using rubber mulch in their lawns. The video goes through several reasons why using rubber mulch is a "big mistake."
@summitlawns Rubber mulch is not the miracle product you think it is. It is messy and REALLY REALLY HOT. Like, it will completely scorch your plants. Not worth it. Just get the real stuff for you flowerbeds #allnatural #naturallandscaping #landscapingtips #landscaping #landscape #lawncare #lawncaretips #lawncarenut #lincoln #nebraska #summer #gardening #flowerbeds #lawntok ♬ original sound - Summit Lawns
"First of all, rubber mulch gets hot," the video's voiceover explains. "So hot it'll burn and kill the plants in your flower beds. On top of that, rubber mulch gets everywhere … Rubber mulch will stay in your lawn forever."
Summit Lawns goes on to tell folks to always opt for real mulch, either doing it yourself or paying someone to put it down for you. While they are a landscaping company and probably hoping to get some business from their video, their advice is not unfounded.
An article from Lawn Love goes through the upsides and downsides, and while there are some touted benefits of rubber mulch, such as a long lifespan, fewer bugs, and potentially inhibiting weed growth, the cons seem to outweigh the pros.
Firstly, it's expensive, and though it may last, the initial investment in rubber mulch is very high.
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Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, rubber mulch is not biodegradable, so it's not breaking down to keep your soil healthy. This mulch will likely leach harmful chemicals into the soil, such as zinc, aluminum, cadmium, and chromium.
Additionally, as the TikTok says, rubber gets very hot and is also flammable, leading to the potential for fires.
One person commented on the post saying, "Nephew smoked on back deck and flicked cigarette into flowers. Leaf caught rubber mulch on fire and almost burnt our house."
Another commenter remarked, "I'm never gonna think about buying rubber mulch. Cardboard to suppress weeds, compost and woodchips. Gotta get that mycelium action."
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