Burpee W Atlee Co National Headquarters

Burpee W Atlee Co National Headquarters is a retail company based out of 300 PARK AVE, Warminster, Pennsylvania, United States. Atlee Burpee & Company was notably different from any other seed business. It was the first research-based seed company in the United States. A year after he went into business, Burpee offered a high-performing new cabbage variety called ‘Surehead’. In 1881, he introduced an improved carrot called ‘Long Orange’, followed by new and improved garden and Lima bean, celery and sweet pepper varieties throughout the 1880s. In 1894, Atlee brought to market a revolutionary lettuce that stayed crisp far longer than other varieties, the now world-famous ‘Iceberg’. Year-round salads suddenly appeared in both homes and restaurants. From the beginning, Atlee Burpee seized on a new retail idea, the mail-order catalogue. Light and compact, seeds were perfectly suited for delivering to rural America. Since most of Atlee’s customers were farmers rather than home gardeners, he named his catalogue “Burpee’s Farm Annual”. Still in his twenties, Atlee was running the world’s fastest-growing mail-order seed company. In that era, American seed companies relied on European breeders for most of their seed varieties. From his research work and correspondence with customers, Burpee concluded that European-bred seeds were incompatible with American soil and climate conditions. Determined to rectify the situation, Atlee set about breeding vegetables in America well-adapted for American gardens.