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{{short description|American seed company}}
{{refimprove|date=April 2017}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox company
| name = W. Atlee Burpee & Co.
Line 5 ⟶ 6:
| logo_size =250px
| logo_alt = Logo of Burpee Seeds, a flower, surrounded by leaves, above the word "Burpee"
| logo_caption =
| logo_padding =
| image =
| image_size =
| image_alt =
| image_caption =
| type = [[Private company]]
| ISIN =
| industry = [[Gardening]]
| fate =
| predecessor = <!-- or: | predecessors = -->
| successor = <!-- or: | successors = -->
| founded = <!-- if known: {{startStart date and age|YYYY|MM|DD1876}} in [[city]], [[country]] -->
| founder = Washington Atlee Burpee
| defunct = <!-- {{end date|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| hq_location =
| hq_location_city = [[Warminster Township, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| hq_location_country =
| coordinates =
| num_locations =
| num_locations_year = <!-- Year of num_locations data (when known) -->
| area_served = <!-- or: | areas_served = -->
| key_people = {{ubl|[[George Ball (American businessman)|George Ball]] (Chairman)|Jamie Mattikow (CEO)}}
| key_people =
| products = Seeds, plants, and supplies for home gardening
| brands =
| production =
| production_year = <!-- Year of production data (when known) -->
| services =
| revenue =
| revenue_year = <!-- Year of revenue data (when known) -->
| operating_income =
| income_year = <!-- Year of operating_income data (when known) -->
| net_income = <!-- or: | profit = -->
| net_income_year = <!-- or: | profit_year = --><!-- Year of net_income/profit data (when known) -->
| assets =
| assets_year = <!-- Year of assets data (when known) -->
| equity =
| equity_year = <!-- Year of equity data (when known) -->
| owner = George Ball
| num_employees =
| num_employees_year = <!-- Year of num_employees data (when known) -->
| parent =
| divisions =
| subsid =
| slogan = <!-- or: | slogans = -->
| module = <!-- Used to embed other templates -->
| website = [http://www.burpee.com www.{{URL|burpee.com]}}
| footnotes =
| intl = <!-- Set positively ("true"/"yes"/etc) if company is international, otherwise omit -->
}}
 
'''Burpee Seeds and Plants''', officially '''W. Atlee Burpee & Co.''', is an American [[Seed company|seed and plant company]] that was founded by [[Washington Atlee Burpee]] in [[Pennsylvania]] in 1876.<ref>{{citeCite web |author=retailerIda4b383cd view brand Burpee |url=https://www.burpee.com/gardenadvicecenter/about/aboutcompany-us/about-us.html history|title=Burpee company history pageCompany History|publisher=Burpee.com |date=2019-04-11 |df= }}</ref> The company is not named after a relationship to "burpless" [[cucumbers]].
 
==History==
W. Atlee Burpee & Company was founded in 1876 by [[Washington Atlee Burpee]] in [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]] after starting a mail-order chicken business in 1876. The company expanded to selling garden seeds, farm supplies, tools and hogs after customers began asking for seeds they had grown in their native farms. In 1888, the family farm, [[Fordhook Farm|Fordhook Farms]] was established as a family farm and crop field trials after Burpee began traveling to Europe to collect seeds which needed to be adopted to North American climates.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.saveseeds.org/biography/burpee_wa.html|title=W. Atlee Burpee -- Seedsmen.org|website=www.saveseeds.org|access-date=2019-11-14}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.cleveland.com/insideout/2016/09/burpees_fordhook_farm_a_visit_to_one_of_the_worlds_leading_seed_breeding_companies_photos.html|title=Burpee's Fordhook Farm: A visit to one of the world's leading seed breeding companies (photos)|last=Washington|first=Julie|date=2016-09-15|website=cleveland|language=en|access-date=2019-11-14}}</ref> The farm was likely the first experimental test field station in the United States. In 1900, [[Luther Burbank]] visited the farm inspiring him to create his own experiments. He later created research stations around the country and world to test seeds.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/40188370/|title=2 Oct 1976, Page 11 - The Daily Intelligencer at Newspapers.com|website=Newspapers.com|language=en|access-date=2019-11-21}}</ref> By the turn of the century, Burpee's had created one of the largest mail and freight businesses of the time.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vpBP-Og6k_UC&newbks=0|title=Gardening with Heirloom Seeds: Tried-and-True Flowers, Fruits, and Vegetables for a New Generation|last=Coulter|first=Lynn|date=2012-12-01|publisher=UNC Press Books|isbn=9781469608716|language=en}}</ref>▼
 
=== Early years (1876–1915) ===
The direction of the company began to change with the death of its founder in 1915, when his son, [[David Burpee]], inherited the company.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UK5FAQAAMAAJ&newbks=0|title=Printers' Ink Monthly|date=1919|publisher=Romer Publishing Company|language=en}}</ref> David was interested in war or [[victory garden]]s and was an early promoter of the concept during [[World War I]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39394145/the_philadelphia_inquirer/|title=D.W. Burpee, 87, the Leader Among Seedsmen Dies|last=|first=|date=1980-06-25|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer|access-date=2019-11-21|pages=1, 7}}</ref> He also prioritized in flowers and initiated several flower [[Hybrid (biology)|hybridization]] breeding programs. Geneticists also began to modify the genes of seeds using x-rays and employed the use of [[Colchicine|colchine]] to modify cells.<ref name=":3" /> ▼
▲W. Atlee Burpee & Company was founded in 1876 by [[Washington Atlee Burpee]] in [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], after starting a mail-order chicken business in 1876. The company expanded to selling garden seeds, farm supplies, tools and hogs after customers began asking for seeds they had grown in their native farms. In 1888, the family farm, [[Fordhook Farm|Fordhook]] Farmsin [[Doylestown, Pennsylvania]], was established as a family farm and crop field trials after Burpee began traveling to Europe to collect seeds which needed to be adoptedadapted to North American climates.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.saveseeds.org/biography/burpee_wa.html|title=W. Atlee Burpee -- Seedsmen.org|website=www.saveseeds.org|access-date=2019-11-14}}</ref><ref name=":1"cleveland>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cleveland.com/insideout/2016/09/burpees_fordhook_farm_a_visit_to_one_of_the_worlds_leading_seed_breeding_companies_photos.html|title=Burpee's Fordhook Farm: A visit to one of the world's leading seed breeding companies (photos)|last=Washington|first=Julie|date=2016-09-15|website=cleveland[[Cleveland.com]]|language=en|access-date=2019-11-14}}</ref> The farm was likely the first experimental test field station in the United States. In 1900, distant cousin [[Luther Burbank]] visited the farm inspiring him to create his own experiments. He later created additional research stations, aroundincluding thein countryCalifornia andin world1909, to test seeds.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/40188370/|title=2 Oct 1976, Page 11 - The Daily Intelligencer at Newspapers.com|website=Newspapers.com|language=en|access-date=2019-11-21}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39433613/garden_genius_david_burpee_83_still/|title=Garden genius David Burpee, 83, still crusades for marigold|date=1976-08-29|work=The Boston Globe|access-date=2019-11-22|pages=169}}</ref> By the turn of the century, Burpee's had created one of the largest mail and freight businesses of the time.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vpBP-Og6k_UC&newbks=0|title=Gardening with Heirloom Seeds: Tried-and-True Flowers, Fruits, and Vegetables for a New Generation|last=Coulter|first=Lynn|date=2012-12-01|publisher=UNC Press Books|isbn=9781469608716|language=en}}</ref>
 
<gallery>
Under his leadership, the advertising and catalog also improved. The advertisements began to include full-color advertising to include Burpee's strengths of reliability of seeds using the motto "Burpee's Seeds Grow" and leader in the industry while the catalog was compact, arranged by category, and easy to find the order form. Any information not included in the catalog was sent to the customer requesting it in a handwritten letter. The catalog's sales averaged $4 per order (roughly $53 dollars in 2019).<ref name=":2" /> In 1949, Burpee introduced its 'Big Boy' tomato hybrid which quickly became its best sellers.<ref name=":1" />▼
File:Burpee's farm annual - garden, farm, and flower seeds, thoroughbred stock (1884) (20501247072).jpg|W. Atlee Burpee & Co. (1884)
File:Burpee's farm annual 1893 (1893) (20501427622).jpg|Seed warehouse operations (1893)
File:Burpee's Farm Annual 1886 front cover.jpg|Burpee's farm annual (1886)
File:1901BurpeeCatalog.jpg|Burpee seed catalog (1901)
</gallery>
 
=== Expanding the company (1915–1970) ===
In 1970, David Burpee sold the company to [[General Foods]].<ref name=":3" /> In 1974, Burpee moved from its north [[Philadelphia]] location to its current headquarters at 300 Park Avenue in [[Warminster, Pennsylvania]]. [[SEPTA]] extended its [[Warminster Line]] commuter rail to Warminster, the train station being opposite Park Avenue from Burpee's headquarters.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}}▼
[[File:Burpee seed counter.jpg|thumb|upright|A [[seed-counting machine]] at the W. Atlee Burpee company in 1943]]
▲The direction of the company began to change with the death of its founder in 1915, when his son, [[David Burpee]], inherited the company.<ref name=":2"printersink>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UK5FAQAAMAAJ&newbks=0|title=Printers' Ink Monthly|date=1919|publisher=Romer Publishing Company|language=en}}</ref> David was interested in war or [[victory garden]]s and was an early promoter of the concept during [[World War I]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39394145/the_philadelphia_inquirer/|title=D.W. Burpee, 87, the Leader Among Seedsmen Dies|last=|first=|date=1980-06-25|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer|access-date=2019-11-21|pages=1, 7}}</ref> He also prioritized in flowers and initiated several flower [[Hybrid (biology)|hybridization]] breeding programs. Geneticists also began to modify the genes of seeds using xX-rays and employed the use of [[Colchicine|colchinecolchicine]] to modify cells.<ref name=":3" />
 
▲Under his leadership, the advertising and catalog also improved. The advertisements began to include full-color advertising to include Burpee's strengths of reliability of seeds using the motto "Burpee's Seeds Grow" and leader in the industry while the catalog was compact, arranged by category, and easy to find the order form. Any information not included in the catalog was sent to the customer requesting it in a handwritten letter. The catalog's sales averaged $4 per order (roughlyequivalent to $53{{Inflation|US|4|1919|r=1}} dollars in 2019today).<ref name=":2"printersink />{{Rp|38}} InVarious 1949,artists Burpeeillustrated introducedthe itscatalog 'Bigincluding Boy'[[Paul tomatode hybridLongpré|Paul whichde quicklyLongpre]] becameand its[[Alois best sellersLunzer]].<ref>{{Cite namenews|url="https:1"//www.newspapers.com/clip/39437795/a_flowering_of_commercial_illustration/|title=A flowering of commercial illustration will be on exhibit|date=2000-10-13|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer|access-date=2019-11-22|pages=73}}</ref>
In 1981, experimentation and seed production left Fordhook Farms.<ref name=":1" />
 
After Burbank's death in 1926, Burpee acquired the rights to his experiments but no notable vegetables or flowers were to come from Burbank's work.<ref name=":4" /> In 1949, Burpee introduced its [[Big Boy tomato|'Big Boy' tomato]] hybrid which quickly became its best seller.<ref name=cleveland />
In 1979, the company was acquired by [[ITT Corporation|ITT]]. David Burpee remained as a consultant until his death in June 1980. In 1991, the Burpee company was acquired by [[George Ball (Burpee)|George Ball]], Inc., a diversified horticultural family business. Jonathan Burpee, the founder's grandson, was the last Burpee family member to work for the company. The company maintains the original Burpee farm, Fordhook Farms, in [[Doylestown, Pennsylvania]], where notable varieties such as [[Iceberg lettuce]] and [[Big Boy tomato]] were bred. The company currently sells a wide variety of seeds, plants in various forms, and garden accessories to home gardeners.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}}
 
=== New ownership (1970–present) ===
In March 2019, James Mattikow was named the company's president in CEO.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://seedworld.com/jamie-mattikow-named-president-and-ceo-of-w-atlee-burpee/|title=Jamie Mattikow named President and CEO of W. Atlee Burpee|last=Staff|date=2019-03-25|website=Seed World|language=en-US|access-date=2019-11-14}}</ref>▼
[[File:Heirloom Seed Packets.jpg|thumb|Seed packet display in store (2013)]]
▲In 1970, David Burpee sold the company to [[General Foods]] for $10 million.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39436410/back_to_its_roots/|title=Back to its roots|date=1987-09-27|work=The Courier-Journal|access-date=2019-11-22|pages=70}}</ref> In 1974, Burpee moved from its north [[Philadelphia]] location to its current headquarters at 300 Park Avenue in [[Warminster, Pennsylvania]]. [[SEPTA]] extended its [[Warminster Line]] commuter rail to Warminster, the train station being opposite Park Avenue from Burpee's headquarters.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}} In the 70s, the company introduced seed-starting kits for beginners, an innovation in the seed industry.<ref name=":4" />
 
In 1979, the company was acquired by [[ITT Corporation|ITT]]. David Burpee remained as a consultant until his death in June 1980.<ref name=dailypress>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39436127/burpee_plants_seeds_in_retail_internet/|title=Burpee plants seeds in retail, Internet businesses|date=2000-06-25|work=[[Daily Press (Virginia)|Daily Press]]|access-date=2019-11-22|pages=89}}</ref> In 1981, experimentation and seed production left Fordhook Farm.<ref name=cleveland />
==White Marigold==▼
 
In the 1980s, gardens had begun to shrink in size from an average of 600 square feet to 325 square feet while chain stores began selling a better selection of plants to their customers who preferred plants over seeds. These market changes and mismanagement by ITT led Burpee's sales to slump, and the company was purchased for $15 million by new investors [[McKinsey & Company|McKinsley & Co]]. in 1987.<ref name=dailypress /><ref name=":5" />
David Burpee began working to hybridize the marigold in 1919 to despite its limited colors, scrawniness, and late blooming flower. It was at this time that he first had the idea of a white marigold competition but held off on it due to his belief that the hybridization would be unsuccessful.<ref name=":3" />▼
 
In 1991, the Burpee company was acquired by [[George Ball (Burpee)|George Ball]], Inc., a diversified horticultural family business. The new leadership diversified the business by selling new and unusual varieties; more plants than seeds; opening its own retail stores in 2000; and utilizing its web store to boost business. Jonathan Burpee, the founder's grandson, was the last Burpee family member to work for the company.<ref name=dailypress />
In its 1954 catalog, W. Atlee Burpee & Co. first advertised a competition for the development of the first white marigold flower, offering $10,000 to any gardener whose efforts produced a flower deemed to be pure white. 21 years later, the prize was awarded to 67-year-old [[Alice Vonk]] of Sully, Iowa, who received $100 the previous year as one of six gardeners nationwide whose marigolds came closest to being white.<ref name="Alice Vonk">"Sully Woman's Life Unchanged After Producing Prize Marigold," ''Pella Chronicle'', Pella Iowa, September 10, 1975, page 16.</ref><ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AR4vAAAAIBAJ&sjid=YtsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4240,6648056&dq=white+marigold&hl=en Beaver County Times - Google News Archive Search<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_-JNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=aIsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4988,4041021&dq=white+marigold&hl=en The Free Lance-Star - Google News Archive Search<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DUZQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QlgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2419,2823283&dq=white+marigold&hl=en The Evening Independent - Google News Archive Search<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=I-ohAAAAIBAJ&sjid=H2cEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5841,5903878&dq=white+marigold&hl=en Sarasota Herald-Tribune - Google News Archive Search<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Vonk kept seeds from the lightest flowers in her garden each season, replanting for over two decades before achieving a pure white marigold that measured 2.5&nbsp;inches in diameter. Her entry in the 1975 edition of the contest topped 8,200 other entrants and produced what was then described as the "costliest flower ever." <ref name="Alice Vonk" />▼
 
In 1998, Ball purchased the family farm, where notable varieties such as [[Iceberg lettuce]] and Big Boy tomato were bred, to renovate and establish the property as a horticultural center. The seeds Burpee produces are almost exclusively grown in California.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39438696/fordhook_farm_is_central_to_burpees/|title=Fordhook Farm is central to Burpee's plans for new growth|date=2004-05-20|work=The Boston Globe|access-date=2019-11-22|pages=21}}</ref>
 
▲In March 2019, James Mattikow was named the company's president inand CEO.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://seedworld.com/jamie-mattikow-named-president-and-ceo-of-w-atlee-burpee/|title=Jamie Mattikow named President and CEO of W. Atlee Burpee|last=Staff|date=2019-03-25|website=Seed World|language=en-US|access-date=2019-11-14}}</ref>
 
▲==White Marigoldmarigold==
[[File:White marigold.JPG|thumb|White marigold]]
▲In 1919, David Burpee began working to hybridize the [[Tagetes|marigold in 1919]] to despiteovercome its limited colors, scrawniness, and late blooming flowerflowers. It was at this time that he first had the idea of a white marigold competition but held off on it due to his belief that the hybridization would be unsuccessful.<ref name=":3" />
 
▲In its 1954 catalog, W. Atlee Burpee & Co. first advertised a competition for the development of the first white marigold flower, offering $10,000 to any gardener whose efforts produced a flower deemed to be pure white. 21Twenty-one years later, in 1975, the prize was awarded to 67-year-old [[Alice Vonk]] of Sully, Iowa, who received $100 the previous year as one of six gardeners nationwide whose marigolds came closest to being white.<ref name="Alice Vonk">"Sully Woman's Life Unchanged After Producing Prize Marigold," ''Pella Chronicle'', Pella Iowa, September 10, 1975, page 16.</ref><ref>[{{Cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AR4vAAAAIBAJ&sjid=YtsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4240,6648056&dq=white+marigold&hl=en Beaver|title=White CountyMarigold TimesEarns -$10,000 Googlefor NewsState ArchiveWoman|publisher=[[The Search<!--Beaver BotCounty generatedTimes]]|via=[[Google titleNews -->Archive]]|date=August 30, 1975}}</ref><ref>[{{Cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_-JNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=aIsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4988,4041021&dq=white+marigold&hl=en|title=Reward Theis Free$10,000 Lance-Starfor -white marigold|publisher=[[The Free Lance–Star]]|via=[[Google News Archive]]|date=August Search<!--30, Bot generated title -->]1975}}</ref><ref>[{{Cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DUZQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QlgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2419,2823283&dq=white+marigold&hl=en|title=Widow Thegrows $10,000 flower|publisher=[[Evening Independent - ]]|via=[[Google News Archive]]|date=August Search<!--29, Bot generated title -->]1975}}</ref><ref>[{{Cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=I-ohAAAAIBAJ&sjid=H2cEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5841,5903878&dq=white+marigold&hl=en|title=White Marigold Found After 56 Years|publisher=[[Sarasota Herald-Tribune - ]]|via=[[Google News Archive]]|date=September Search<!-- Bot generated28, title -->]1975}}</ref> Vonk kept seeds from the lightest flowers in her garden each season, replanting for over two decades before achieving a pure white marigold that measured 2.5&nbsp;inches in diameter. Her entry in the 1975 edition of the contest topped 8,200 other entrants and produced what was then described as the "costliest flower ever." .<ref name="Alice Vonk" /> Burpee's branded the flower as "Burpee's Best Whites."<ref name=":4" />
 
By 1960, the odorless flower was the best-selling flower in the United States.<ref name=":3" />
 
==References==
{{reflistReflist}}
 
==External links==
{{Commons category|W. Atlee Burpee & Co.}}
* [http://www.saveseeds.org/biography/burpee_wa.html Biography of W. Atlee Burpee]
* {{Official website|https://www.burpee.com}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120204101728/http://www.saveseeds.org/biography/burpee_david.html Biography of David Burpee]
* [https://archive.today/20130118144628/http://www.burpee.com/about/covergallerylist.jsp?sort=publishYear Burpee Seeds -catalog Corporatecover Sitegallery]
* [https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/findingaids/mc00573 Dennis Werner Collection of Seed Catalogs 1883-2013], contains approximately 90 annual publications from W. Atlee Burpee & Co
* [https://www.burpee.com/gardenadvicecenter/get-to-know/the-legacy-of-w.-atlee-burpee/legacy.html The Legacy of W. Atlee Burpee]
* [https://archive.is/20130118144628/http://www.burpee.com/about/covergallerylist.jsp?sort=publishYear Burpee catalog cover gallery]
 
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