WARMINSTER, Pa., Nov. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- For summer 2013, W. Atlee Burpee, the country's leading home gardening company, offers a remarkable lineup of breakthrough vegetables, flowers, and fruits.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121115/PH11173 )

The trailblazing new varieties will be featured in Burpee's 2013 catalog and on the company's website, burpee.com.

Founded in 1876, Burpee has introduced numerous breakthrough varieties in its 136 years, including the first white sweet corn, the 'Big Boy' tomato, the first white marigold, Iceberg lettuce and 'Sweet Seedless,' the world's first seedless tomato. George Ball, our Chairman and CEO, says these outstanding new varieties will make 2013 "a blockbuster summer in the garden."

Burpee's lineup of Superheroes for 2013 includes several exclusives -- one-of-a-kind varieties you won't find anywhere else.

'On Deck' Hybrid Sweet Corn -- Even veteran gardeners can regard growing corn as a challenge requiring space and effort. 'On Deck' – the first-ever sweet corn specially bred for containers -- makes growing corn easy, convenient and fun. Ever so tasty, this breakthrough bicolor variety is perfectly sized -- 4-5' tall  --  for full-sun decks and patios: an incredible edible conversation-piece that produces 2-3 delicious 7-8"-long ears per stalk. 'On Deck' will transform the look of your patio -- and puts sweet, delicious corn at arm's reach. Supersweet (Sh2). A Burpee exclusive.

'SuperSauce' Hybrid Paste Tomato -- It's SuperSauce! The new tomato superhero. Tipping the scales at 2 lbs., a whopping 5.5" tall x 5" wide, SuperSauce produces gallons of luscious, seedless sauce from a single plant harvest -- one tomato fills an entire sauce jar. Easy-to-grow, semi-determinate, disease-free plants yield a summerlong supply of the exquisitely-flavored marinara, tomato gravy or meat sauce. A Burpee exclusive.

'Crimson Giant' Raspberry -- The world's largest raspberry ever! "Crimson Giant' weighs 4.5 grams -- fully 40-50% bigger than other varieties.  Producing hefty yields of delicious, firm, bright-red, sugar-sweet berries, this new variety was bred by the berry experts at Cornell University. Season-extending, self-pollinating plants keep producing beauteous big berries from late September right into October, and even November.

'Mighty Sweet' Hybrid Grape Tomato -- Meet the new grape tomato loaded with big time nutritional oomph. The first-ever determinate grape tomato, the supersweet mini 2 oz. fruits are loaded with anti-oxidants and high in flavanoids, C, beta-carotene, lycopene and other phytonutrients. The prolific, beauteous plants, with their plenitude of delectable miniature marvels, are sensational in patio containers. A Burpee exclusive.

'Sun King' Hybrid Broccoli -- Here's the new, go-to broccoli for long, hot summers. This large delicious, blue-green variety, is a standout for heat tolerance. With heads 6-8" in diameter, 'Sun King' offers great leaf cover and abundant side shoots. A Burpee exclusive.

'Candy Apple' Hybrid Sweet Pepper -- This year, for the first time, we recruited the Burpee Army -- our large, loyal band of customers -- to submit names for a choice pepper variety.  The name 'Candy Apple' was the winner, capturing the 5" pepper's luscious deep-red color and sugary sweetness. Large, early-maturing fruits excel in salads, as snacks, and when roasted, baked or sauteed. A Burpee exclusive.

'Blue Lagoon' Verbascum -- And now … the bluest of the blues. Introducing the world's very first true-blue verbascum -- with the very finest blue of any garden flower. Prizewinner in the 2011 Chelsea Flower Show, the plant's tall, erect stems are festooned with ever-so-blue saucer-shaped flowers and rosettes of clean green leaves.

To learn more, we invite you to talk to Burpee's experts. Address your questions about vegetables and herbs to Chelsey Fields (cfields@burpee.com) and your flower and fruit questions to Venelin Dimitrov (vdimitrov@burpee.com).

To see a full list of Burpee's "New for 2013" varieties, please visit www.burpee.com/new-for-2013/

Media Contact:
Peggy DeLaurentis
+1-215-674-4900, Ext. 1401

SOURCE W. Atlee Burpee & Co.