@chelle they are pretty easy so maybe the seeds you got were old? I've grown them often. Now I winter over a lot in the GH and then take cuttings so I haven't started seeds for a couple of years but I probably will add some more colors next year.
I get a lot of seeds from Swallowtail as well. We really like them! Our order should be arriving any day now. We have them sent to Jen and she takes what she wants and passes the rest to me. But she will keep some of mine to WS since it's challenging here because we don't get as much cold. Not this year tho!