I used a mix, one bag of this and one bag of the pollinator mix, same brand. I had fantastic luck both last year and this year. I noticed that the flowers that spring up early differ slightly from the ones that come later in the summer, although the cosmos are always around. This year, I added some short fencing around them since they get quite tall. I have seen many, many pollinator insects, a few hummingbirds (I do also have a hummingbird feeder on the other side of the house, so that may draw them to the area and then they just stop by the flowers too), and several goldfinches going to town on these flowers. I'm sorry to see that others have not had as good of an experience. I'm no master Gardener but I thought that I should share my perspective too, since something is working. This is the southeast part of Virginia, and my yard soil is quite claylike. I planted mine in an east facing place that gets morning to early afternoon sun. I just till the ground, throw the seeds down, and add a few cheap bags of all purpose topsoil, then water it often until they get mid-sized. I hope this helps people.

This germinated well for me, but that's where the stars stop. It's nearly entirely giant purple hyssop... which is a tall, annoying weed in my garden here in Northern Michigan. A few cosmos and a few clovers geminated as well. While that might be what's best for the critters, I'm disappointed in the flower selection.