BURPEE SEEDS

'Burpee Seeds', officially 'W. Atlee Burpee & Co. Seeds', was founded by W. Atlee Burpee in 1878. Originally selling garden seeds as well as farm supplies, tools, and even poultry and hogs, the direction of the company began to change with the death of its founder in 1915.
His son, David Burpee, took over the company upon his father's death.
He was interested in War or victory gardens and was an early promoter of the concept during the Great War. He also brought his interest in flowers to the forefront of the companies priorities and initiated several flower breeding programs.
In 1970, David Burpee sold his company to General Foods. In 1979 the company passed to ITT. David Burpee remained as a consultant until his death in June of 1984. In 1991 the Burpee company was acquired by George J. Ball, Inc., a diversified horticultural family business. Jonathan Burpee, the founder's grandson, was the last family member to work for the company. He was fired by Ball in 1993. In 2005 the company was sold to Seminis, which in turn is owned to a large degree by Monsanto. Opponents of genetic engineering have placed boycotts on Burpee Seeds along with other Monsanto-owned brands such as NutraSweet, Solutia, Scotts, Osmocote, and Miracle-Gro.
The company currently distributes vegetable, flower and herb seeds as well as garden and plant accessories to farmers and gardeners.

Contents

External links

External links

★ Biography of W. Atlee Burpee

★ Biography of David Burpee

★ Burpee Seeds - Corporate Site

★ The Legacy of W. Atlee Burpee

★ Burpee catalog covers through the years