Not my area of expertise, but I will tell you that I looked into it a few years ago since my grill is adjacent to a mulched bed, just to find out if rubber would be less of a fire hazard. Didn't seem to be much less flammable than regular, but more expensive in the short run. I think that the benefits are that you don't need to replace it again and again, it stays put, and hey -- who doesn't like recycling? Hope you get more helpful answers; I did find quite a bit of info online when I was considering it. Any houzzers using it?

It's a horrible NOT Green smelly chemical leaching weed holding expensive money waster.

It does smell at the beginning, and it does cost more, but it does stay put. I would select it over most stone pebbles.

We used rubber mulch as a base in our HOA's playground. It's soft and resilient and has been in for two years. Looks great, the kids love it and organic debris filters through. It will be terrific in your garden.

I would definitely suggest using a natural vs. chemical mulch.

Of course natural mulch (chips or pine straw) break down over time, but in the process of that they release nutrients into the soil. Ground up tires just sit there... I see their place in a playground, but certainly not in a residential garden setting.

We just started landcaping our new build and we chose to use rubberized mulch from treadstone llc. It looks like regular mulch which I love so it doesn't look fake. The "rubber" smell was gone within a weeks time. Water perks down without issue and our plants are doing just fine with it. It was roughly 3x the cost of regular mulch but we expect it to last atleast 10 years. I will attach some pictures from the suppliers garden that they sent us that helped us chose them. I can post pictures of ours later too.

The whole point of mulch is to decompose and add organic matter to the soil. Mulch that doesn't decompose and need an annual retopping will have the past season's weed seeds and debris accumulate in the top layer and sprout. like that silly rock topping in beds. It's actually MORE work and expense over the long term. Not less. It also leaches chemicals into the soil.

I used rubber mulch and after a few years it looked terrible. It was dirty, faded and smelly when wet. It had to be replenished just like regular mulch. Never again.