Homeownership is something many of us aspire to, but unfortunately, the choices of the previous owner can come back to haunt us. One gardener was disappointed to find that their new home came with a yard full of unnatural rubber mulch.
Rubber mulch is a common, long-lasting mulch alternative made from recycled tires. While recycling is a valuable endeavor, rubber mulch may not be the best choice for your garden. One Redditor learned this the hard way. On r/Landscaping, the poster asked for advice on how to deal with their mulch problem.
The Redditor wrote: "As a very inexperienced gardener, I planted shrubs and plants in the beds when we moved in without doing anything to prepare the existing beds."
"I'm hoping this is not a death sentence for my entire front flower beds, but this combination of clay soil and compacted rubber mulch is obviously restricting the plants from receiving proper water and air depriving them of nutrients," they continued. "Short of pulling all of the bushes, shrubs and flowers to completely remove the mulch and till the clay soil, what are my options?"
According to LawnStarter, rubber mulch has some major downsides. It does not decompose, so it "does not enhance the soil's nutrient levels." LawnStarter also explains that it is a fire hazard: "Shredded rubber produced the highest results in all three combustion characteristics among eight different mulches."
Many homeowners have been trying to find more eco-friendly options for their yards — from replacing toxic mulch with more natural options to swapping out grass lawns for alternatives like clover.
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Lawn alternatives could save you hundreds of dollars on watering and maintenance. Not to mention, native lawns are better for pollinators, even if you only do a partial replacement.
Commenters on Reddit had some helpful suggestions for the original poster.
One person recommended: "For areas like this, I prefer to start over. You can raise the level of the bed by rototilling sand into the mix, you can re-pot the plants while you are working. The sand allows the water to penetrate deeper and the plant roots to grow with less restriction."
The original poster responded to this idea, saying: "The soil is very uneven in the bed so I know it should be leveled out. It makes me cringe and want to cry when I think of pulling everything out in the hopes they will adapt with a transfer like that."
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