Rubber mulch has no place in the landscape. Rocks may look nice, initially, but years down the road the weeds become a problem as wind borne dirt settles around the rocks and the weeds get a foothold. Rock mulch belongs in the desert areas of Arizona and Nevada where you are growing cacti and succulents that love rocks, heat, and a bone dry surface. Having rocks as a mulch in Florida looks out of place, in my opinion. Natural bark mulches are very good and pine straw is a good choice as well. All of these break down and add nutrients to the soil. The fact that you don't have all that landscape fabric like rocks do means fertilizer and water moves through the naturally mulched surface with ease. I like pine straw as I am a gardener who plants many smaller flowers and plants that do well with the lighter coverage of the pine straw. Heavy bark mulches interfere with the growth of these smaller plants. Bark mulch takes some of the nitrogen out of the soil as it breaks down and can slow the growth of the smaller plants. "Florida Friendly" mulches are natural bark and pine straw mulch. As mentioned already Melaleuca mulch is preferred over cypress as it is an invasive plant, whereas the cypress is native and a desirable tree growing in our wetlands.
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