however- I refuse to use it not only because I think it looks fake- but because I dye textiles, and understand WHY I wear mask, gloves, and long sleeves while working with the dyes, the mordants, and the neutralizers...

but I guess as long as it's not used on anything you intend to eat, it's no worse than anything else.

One potential problem with these dyed mulches is that we don't know where the wood comes from. Much of it, at least initially, was recycled CCA (cromated copper arsenate) lumber. This, of course, makes it baaaaaaaaad stuff. The dyed color masks that it is treated lumber. This might be a worthy issue for you to explore, before using any more of this product.

I recently found the following information for a friend who was inquiring about how it's made.

"Red mulch is composed of either mixed hardwoods or recycled wood waste, then dyed a red color to cover the wood impurities. One variety of red mulch is CCA Mulch that is created from chipped up wood by-products from demolished buildings, decks or other construction projects. CCA is a wood preservative, Chromated Copper Arsenate, that includes arsenic, a known carcinogen. CCA mulch has been dyed to cover up the inconsistencies, but not all dyed mulches contain CCA. To determine if the colored mulch you are purchasing does not have CCA treated wood look for the voluntary label by the mulch and soil council stating certified mulch."

I don't wanna beat a dead horse but there are controversial problems associated with dyed mulches that you should be aware of if you plan to use it. The information in the link below was taken from a Gardens Alive site. I cut and pasted this paragraph from there;

"Wood mulches can slow the growth of established plants—and yes, just plain starve new ones to death—by ‘tying up’ the available food in your soil, a process known as "Nitrogen immobilization". Wood is carbon; carbon always looks for nitrogen to bond with so it can break down into new soil—that’s the principle behind composting. Wood mulches take that nitrogen right out of the soil, out-competing your nitrogen-needy plants. And dyed mulches are the absolute WORST offenders; the wood in these old pallets—chipped up and sprayed with dye—is the worst type for use around plants. Our favorite mulch expert, Ohio State Professor Emeritus Dr. Harry Hoitink, warns that dyed mulch is especially deadly when used around young plants or in brand new landscapes."

Just food for thought.......

For a minute I was panicked reading about the CCAs in dyed mulch since a contractor put down dyed (happily just brown) chipped wood mulch at my school, but then I remembered that there was a luxuriant crop of fungus that first year, so I guess that I don't have to worry too much. I just get standard chips, let them decompose, and then remulch.

Ummm... why are you making fun of me? My momma says I look handsome!

Fair enough, but I doubt the asker of the question is amused.

I don't know if the dye is at all harmful, but I doubt it. The best info I can find is that the dyed mulch is (often) recycled wood pallets dyed with a vegetable based, non toxic dye. It shouldn't 'bleed' to the plants.

If you like the look of it then that is all that matters.

I'm very glad to report that I see much less use of the brightly dyed mulches in my city, at least for residential use. I've noticed that retail establishments have begun to use it, probably so that passersby can spot their businesses a mile away, lol.

The colorants are safe, at least those manufactured by the leading companies. They are as safe or safer than water based paints. We have done testing with outside laboratories to verify that.

The primary materials in the reds are iron oxides, which are versions of rust. The primary material in the black colorants is carbon black - the same stuff that rubs off of burnt charcoal, but more intense. The stuff is dirty, but it's safe as long as it's not a large airborne quantity getting in your lungs. The other materials in the formulas are also safe and are in small amounts.
The actual mulches may have some danger from CCA wood, as another person noted in a previous posting. The colored mulch industry has two primary types of company making mulch - land clearing companies that take the logs to lumberyards and grind the smaller wood into mulch, and wood waste recycling shops that take previously used wood - pallets, packaging crates, etc., and grind and color that stuff. If you buy from a land clearing company, there's virtually no chance of CCA wood being in there. If you buy from a recycler, there's a chance if they weren't careful that some CCA wood got in the mix. We warn our customers to be careful, but we can't guarantee that they are.

As for dangers to your plants, all mulch has some effect on plants, and different plants respond differently. Most do fine around mulch, but not all. Also, some red mulches have been shown to have effects on the yeilds of strawberries and tomatoes - something about the red light reflection having a different effect on those plants. You'll have to search for those on line; I read about those studies years ago.

Hope that information was helpful.

I used black dyed mulch in the front yard of my home to complement the color of my house and it looks great!

Thank you to those who actually answered the question.

1) The red mulch I get from Home Depot says 100% Natural. That means the wood really is cedar and it's not recycled CCA. If you have a problem with cedar that's a different issue. Cedar is known to make hamsters and gerbils ill which is why it's not recommended for inside use.
2) I've never seen the dye leach from the wood. Wouldn't you see red grass and stained concrete from the run off if that were the case? I don't get it on my skin either when I spread it around. It does become faded over time but I suspect this has to do more with weathering and UV sunlight than anything (the chemical breaks down into a clear state--it doesn't leach--like paint on your house)
3) MULCH IS SUPPOSED TO KILL! Isn't that why you put it down? To kill the weeds??? Well, yeah, be careful with small plants but honestly, you shouldn't have ANY mulch that's within several inches of your new plants whether it's red cedar mulch, pine bark, pine needles, leaves, or whatever. Wait until they become established and then you can put the mulch up against it.

Nice comments but let's keep some sanity here... ;-)

And mulch does not kill weeds, but is supposed to help suppress their growth as they germinate in the soil. It's a physical process, not a chemical one. There are some tree by-products that contain allelopathic properties, cedar being one of them, but most are safe to use in close proximity to existing plants.

There are a lot of opinions here - some saying it's safe others saying it's not. Personally I'd like to see test results from an independent lab.

I really don't expect truthful information from the companies making it. What company would say: "This product contains toxins that are bad for the soil and groundwater. Use it if the environment is not important to you. Don't use it around edible plants because they could absorb the toxins and the fruits and vegetables could become poisonous."

Grass, shrubs and trees need to be pruned periodically. Instead of throwing this material away, it can be composted or shredded and used as a mulch that replenishes the soil with nutrients, reduces weed growth and helps the soil maintain moisture levels.

This takes time, of course. Buying a few bags of mulch is less work. Unfortunately gardening for many is perhaps a chore and not a joy.

While living in Germany I did some yard maintenance at a few homes and didn't feel I could charge the customers the time it took to shred all the clippings. Then I found the community had a composting company. I could take all my "waste" there in my little trailer and buy a trailer full of finished compost for very little money. The entire composting process could be seen by all. Nothing was added to the organic matter. Back at the client's home I spread the black compost around the plants. The greens contrasted very nicely with the black compost. It was all very natural. There were no bad chemicals to fear.

It really surprises me that a lot of people consider the red mulch attractive. I prefer to choose plants with leaves and flowers that are attractive rather than an artificially-colored mulch. Also, ground covers can be grown below taller plants to cover the soil and add even more beauty with their colors and flowers.

No one asked you or anyone else here what their opinion was on red mulch. In fact I doubt the OP and certainly not me gives a rat's behind if you find it ugly or not. Let's get a view of your garden so we can open the mic up to more karaoke commentators.

So is that how it is on here? When someone comes on here feeling safe to ask a group of people who are expert gardeners a question about a plant or tree people are now supposed to comment on how UGLY their choice is? I am disgusted by the rudeness in this thread. The only explanation I can come up with is the littlest people puff themselves up on an internet forum because they aren't taken seriously offline.