Cedar chips on flower bed?

I really like the look of the cedar chips I have put in my beds that have boxwood shrubs and would like to use them in my flower bed (mostly perennials and a few annuals). One of my co-workers, who claims to know everything about gardening, told me that cedar chips will harm my flowers, but couldn't say exactly why other than it having something to do with the cedar oil. Is he right?

By cedar 'chips', do you mean cedar 'mulch'? Cedar is a great mulch! I use it as much as possible. It has a wonderful smell. And an added bonus is that mosquitos don't like the smell of cedar. To be clear, I am talking about organic cedar mulch. I would not recommend anything that is 'painted' red to look like cedar. I also wouldn't recommend what I think are called cedar flakes. They're ground up very fine and can easily wash away. Whoever told you that cedar mulch is bad is wrong.

We use cedar mulch and I think DH bought over 30 bags this year. we used to buy truck load but the delivery charges had gone up so DH now just but bags when they go on sale.

They are great for flower beds as well as veggie bed. I am not an expert but been gardening for over 25 years so I had learned a lot through trial and error.

Happy gardening!!!

Belle

Co-workers who seems to know everything ... (Grin) (I had a few of those and was likely to be considered one of those too!). You can buy the mulch de-oiled ( is that a legit term?) but it won't repel fleas and insects. That mulch got blamed years ago for being toxic but it was discovered folks were just laying it on too thick. What bothers me is that sometimes on commercial sites (like outdoor shopping malls and banks) the mulch smells like a bad wine. Sort of fermented. Ugh.

The cedar chips I have purchased in the past came from Menards and are large-ish pieces that are light colored when new. Sort of the color of the cedar shavings they (used to?) sell as small animal bedding. They have aged in a year to a pale dirty straw color. The pale color is what I like about them, they really brighten up the garden. Their large chip size means that, so far anyway, they don't decompose very much, so no need to replace/replenish as quickly.

So, the consensus seems to be that there is no danger to using cedar. My co-worker would be shocked to hear that people disagree with he-who-knows-all. As tempting as it is, I don't think I will tell him. I hate the thought of the hour long lecture on why he is most certainly correct. ;)

If cedar oil "harmed" plants, nothing would grow near a cedar tree....GRIN The only caveat I have ever gotten regarding wood mulches (all, not just cedar) is to not layer them on to heavily and to not use them against the foundation of the house....that gives termites a place to hide and get established....but I wonder if termites would even be attracted to the cedar?

Termites probably would not be attracted to freshly installed Cedar or many other similar materials. Redwood is common around here.
But as these materials weather the oils break down, so the natural decomposers (fungi, bugs) can move in. Then these materials are also no longer any good at repelling fleas, etc.

Think about how natural woods have been used for many years for retaining walls and fences.
At first the material is very strong. But over time (short or long) whatever protective oils were in the wood break down. Then the rot moves in, and the fence or retaining wall falls down.