Garden Elements 100% Natural Cocoa Bean Shell Mulch for Gardens, Flower Beds, Potted Plants, and Mulching, 2 cu ft

This cocoa bean mulch is fresh and fragrant. It has a nice dark brown color and the quality seems high. The bag is very large. I was aware, from neighbors, that cocoa mulch could mold after a rain and it could be dangerous if dogs ate it and we have a very dog friendly neighborhood. But I bought it for something else. We came home after a one month vacation to discover our garage freezer had quit and leaked veg and seafood juice onto the floor. We did get the freezer cleaned up, but the not-quite fishy odor persisted from the concrete no matter how much we cleaned it. The oder was slight but still noticeable. That's where the cocoa mulch came in. We poured some into a container and crushed it a little. Now our garage smelled like a chocolate factory. We need to give it a stir every now and then and the heat from the garage does the rest. Perfect solution.

I love cocoa mulch, especially for potted plants but also would be good for small areas where you don't want anything too heavy or permanent. It is very easy to spread and smells great. It tends to be invaded by fungi so best for sunny spots. It mostly decays after a year or so and then can be incorporated into the soil. Apparently dogs might eat it and possibly could be harmful but not sure if that is documented anywhere (even though the Nervous Nellies out there will always mention it). I use it around my cats with no problems, but of course cats aren't stupid enough to eat it. I have heard it might attract rodents but have not had that problem myself (see cats above). There can be a bit of dust at first but that goes away after the first watering or two.

This mulch was expensive , but I decided to try it. (The dyed cheaper mulch retarded the growth of my plants. I found out later that the dye was not good for the soil and depleted the nutrients. It also, did not stay put.) When I spread the cocoa mulch, I loved the smell and it was so easy to spread. It stayed where I put it. It was so thick that it keeps the weeds from growing. It also looks beautiful around my plants. I will buy again and again!

Almost perfect, for me but maybe not you. First, this mulch does mulch. It mulches! And it smells like cocoa, which is amazing! It's a lovely warm brown and easy to spread evenly so when first laid down it looks amazing. But-- it develops a white mold as soon as it gets damp and starts to break down. The mold hasn't impacted my plants at all and I like the mycorrhizal activity for my woodland beds but most people will probably consider the mold a cosmetic problem. As I mentioned, it smells delicious. That's a mixed blessing because I had no idea I wanted chocolate-scented landscaping but neither did the dogs. So, if you have dogs please know that they will probably eat at least some of this mulch. It's made from cocoa hulls and is probably a little toxic to them but none of the four dogs who have eaten it have had any problems. However, if you put this over a pesticide or something and the dog eats it your life could go off the rails pretty quickly. Just things to consider. I think it's still a good product and will continue to buy it but people should know what they're getting.

Mold does form eventually, but it doesn't look too bad unless disturbed. It looks and smells beautiful when first spread and doesn't seem to be negatively impacting my trees. Also thankfully I haven't noticed any weird swarms of flies. I won't be repurchasing, but it did its job for this year.

If you live anywhere that gets regular rain, or you have a flower bed that requires frequent watering, do yourself a favor and skip this mulch. I bought six bags. Thankfully, I only used four and I was able to return the other two. After the first few rains, this stuff molded HORRIFICALLY. On top of that, it attracted some type of tiny jumping maggot-like insects (or they were already in the mulch, I honestly don't know). Now I'm in the process of removing this junk from my flower bed, which is a job I never expected to have after putting down fresh mulch. The cocoa color was nice... for the short time I got to enjoy it. Unfortunately, the mold and insects completely outweighed any cosmetic appeal. I definitely would not purchase this again.

I have used cocoa mulch for as many years as I could find it locally. However, the local nurseries do not carry it any more. I was so happy to find it on line. It is a great product and works so well as mulch. It blends in very well in gardens and eventually goes in to the soil and helps the garden. It really keeps weeds at bay. I also use it in pathways in the garden. It is attractive as a garden path. I'll be ordering it regularly.

I bought this to keep the cats from digging in my planters it works, even after the strong chocolate smell fades