Buisman, Geert Adolph Hendrik (1853 - December 28, 1923 Arnhem), established the nursery in 1912, later named G.A.H. Buisman & Zonen (Sons)
Buisman, Roelof (October 6, 1892 Vijhe, Overijssel -1968), his son, started breeding roses in 1927
Buisman, Geert (b. 1935), his son, left company in 1968
Buisman, Roelof Jr., his cousin, sold company in 1993
[From the website of Museum Geelvinck in Heerde, Netherlands:] Buisman roses...started in 1912, as a hobby that got out of hand for Mr G.A.H. Buisman sr. (1853-1923), on the Groot Oever estate in Wapenveld (between Hattem and Heerde near the IJssel, approximately opposite Wijhe). His father from Hasselt (Ov.) was married to the daughter of the mayor of Wijhe and there on the IJssel, the family made good money with brickyards due to the revival of the Dutch economy in the second half of the 19th century. Initially, growing roses was a hobby, but it took on more serious forms and at one point no fewer than 40,000 roses were delivered per year. His eldest son, Roelof Buisman (1892-1968), followed a horticultural training course in Boskoop especially for the family business, but because no roses were grown there, he went to Echternach and Trier to gather specific expertise. He then took over the company. The soil in Wapenveld near the IJssel was actually much too moist for growing roses. That is why we looked for another location. In 1920 the nursery moved to an area called De Horsthoek, near Heerde, between the IJssel and the Veluwe woods. The company developed so quickly that soon more than a million roses were grown each year. There was even export to England, which is a rose country par excellence. Roelof Buisman first started crossing roses himself in 1927.
After the death of Roelof “the rose grower” Buisman in 1968, the company had several managers who successfully managed the rose nursery. Roelof's youngest son, Geert Buisman (born 1935), the third family member in the management, was forced to leave the company in 1986 for health reasons. After that, two successive managers, including Geert's cousin Roelof Buisman Jr. (grandson of Roelof “the rose grower”), continued the now much slimmed-down rose nursery. Roelof Buisman Jr. cultivated the rose 'Belle van Zuylen' on the occasion of the celebration of the 250th birthday of Belle van Zuylen by the Belle van Zuylen Society in 1990. Finally, in 1993, the remaining company was sold to the Van Dommelen family. . Initially it was continued under the name Buisman Rozen, but after some time the company was renamed 'De Rozenkwekerij' and moved to Deil at the beginning of the new millennium.
