I read a few months ago in Florida Gardening an article criticizing it for various reasons--mainly because possible safety/environmental problems, if I remember right.

They use it in the play area of a beachside park I go to, and in this heat it always smells pretty strong of tires.

Personally, I wouldn't use it, mainly because I think it would get all mixed up in the sand and eventually be a mess because it doesn't break down. Organic mulches like pine bark/straw don't cause this problem.

Bill

One of my neighbors used it for foundation plantings. Not only did it smell terribly in the heat, but she can now get nothing to grow there for long. Not a good idea IMHO

I wouldn't use it. After 11 years of having mulch break down my soil is dark in color and I have worms. It is no longer just sand.

I have an area in my back yard, (under the patio overhang), that when it rains, the water washes the mulch away. Well, it drove me nuts, but putting in gutters was not an option -so as I test, I (reluctantly) bought a couple of bags of it and put it out. I hate to admit it, but it worked just fine and does not smell at all. I put a few pavers in that area and the rubber mulch held them right in place.

It was a quick fix for me in a small area that is really only seen by me. I wouldn't have put it out in the front or used a lot of it.

There was an article in this weekends paper about it.

A snip...

This is a plea to gardeners to not use mulch made from shredded rubber tires. It may last, but it can be very harmful to plants and soil.

Car tires are not made from natural latex. They are riddled with polymers and heavy metals, such as arsenic, lead and zinc. In elevated quantities, zinc is known to be detrimental to plants with shallow roots, such as flowers and vegetables.

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to article

Even were it perfectly stable and unsmelly, it has the disadvantage of not doing several of the most important things that mulch does.

It does not actually HOLD water, it simply shades the soil. Nice, in and of itself, but biological mulches also act as little sponges.

And most importantly, it does not break down and nourish the soil.

Thanks everyone....we have decided against the rubber mulch.....hubby wanted to buy it yesterday and I insisted he wait until I talk to Garden web...thank god I did.....I thought it might have detrimental effect on the plants....so we are going back to regular mulch :-)