The only rose that I know that doesn't mind getting his feet wet is The Swamp Rose, a once bloomer and native to the Southeast. It should arch over the water. See the pictures on HelpMeFind. Other roses will not grow unless in well drained soil.

Swamp rose is my recommendation, too. It's a very attractive shrub when it isn't in bloom. Antique Rose Emporium has it. I've also seen it at Buchanan's if you are near Houston.

Here is a link that might be useful: Swamp Rose at ARE

Judith, I hope you'll show us pictures of the finished pond; what a great feature that will be. If it were me I would have several Swamp Roses interspersed with other plants in that area. I've seen pictures of the whole plant and they really are graceful bushes and the flowers are just lovely. The single petals would look more natural in that tree-filled area than "fluffy" roses.

Ingrid

Hi Judith,

One rose immediately came to mind--Cerise Bouquet. I've seen pictures of it in books and on the web planted next to water features, and it gracefully arches over the pools with its canes dotted with "cerise" flowers. Quite a lovely sight.

I grow a hybrid perpetual named Baronne Prevost which I've planted next to a spring-fed stream. For me, she blooms mostly year round and gets taller than often stated. She's planted among eucalyptus trees and her canes actually climb among the tree branches. I'm posting a link to a picture of mine on HMF.

What kind of soil do you have? If sandy one of the taller growing rugosas might be happy. One that could fit the bill is Wasagaming. A rugosa cross utilizing the very hardy R. acicularis and the hybrid tea Gruss an Teplitz (an arching grower itself btw).

Do you have any color preferences? There are some beautiful white or yellow species crosses (often single or semi-double) that tend to get large and could look beautiful next to a pond.

Melissa

Here is a link that might be useful: Baronne Prevost

I will certainly post photos when I get the island planted. That will have to be next spring, after the pond [hopefully] has filled up with water. The soil looks to be sandy loam, best I can figure. I will no doubt have to ammend the planting hole with compost. I am saving all these suggestions.....thank you! I went to the Antique Rose Emporium yesterday and saw Swamp Rose - they have it around their little lily ponds. I also hope Spirea [Bridal Wreath] will grow there - it is just beautiful in spring with the white weeping branches. I have some cobalt blue louisiana iris planted by the former owner [18 years ago - I have been wanting to dig this pond all these years!] I plan to add more louisiana iris of differing colors that I brought from my former home. Maybe even some azaleas....they love water. Formosas get huge in time and would be gorgeous! The only color I would be not too crazy about planting is red - I would like a softer effect. But.....if one happened to be right for this space, I would use it. Its going to be a long wait while it fills up! I am having a bridge built over to the island - going to hang bird feeders, make a fire ring and put adirondyke chairs. And plan to put koi in the pond as well. All this may not work, but I have been thinking about it all these years.

How about Raubritter? I have two plants around the edge of my small pond and they are wonderful: arching, lower growing, very floriferous. Here is a link to paste in your browser: http://www.google.com/search?q=raubritter+rose&hl=en&client=safari&tbo=u&rls=en&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ei=8KmjUKXWGefLigLUhoCACQ&ved=0CC4QsAQ&biw=1231&bih=668

Raubritter sounds perfect! Only vendor that has it is Vintage....I will have to grow it to a fair sized plant so it can survive - better order now! Good excuse to make another Vintage order!

Be careful of your placement of the azaleas. They will not tolerate wet feet. The Lousiana iris sound wonderful. I have some native blue flag irises that my Dad and I dug up growing in standing water in a ditch in Georgia years ago. They are tough and spread like crazy.

I am going to try formosa azaleas - they are tough in my area - I plan to build them up with pine bark mulch and just see what happens. If they grow, they would be beautiful. I have lots of different colors of louisiana iris - those will be a cinch. I am hoping spirea [bridal wreath] will do well there too - it arches and is fabulous in spring. Also want to see if a lady banksia rose will grow on the island. This will probably be trial and error....

Be careful about growing plants on an island in a pond like that. My family used to have property with similar soil (near Columbus, TX), and there was a small "peninsula" that stuck out into the pond, and it was always wet. Some of the native plants and trees that were on it died because they stayed too wet.

Almost any rose should be fine as long as you have consistently several inches of soil above the water table. So you don't have to go far up the bank to make that happen. But I agree with others, above -- Swamp Rose is the only one I know of that doesn't mind being right at the water edge. I've even found it in the wild with the base under 2-3" of water, some seasons. It's fine with that. Almost like a cypress tree.

If you plan on koi, well, stop. Koi need lots of filtration for long term good health. Plants near a pond are going to be dropping a lot of litter into the pond, which is going to sink to the bottom and eventually create a black sludge that harbors all kinds of bad bacteria and parasites that are bad for koi. Ponds with gradual slopes are magnets for raccoons, herons, and other predators that will get right in there and eat all your koi. Are you going to be vacuuming out the bottom of the pond on a regular basis? Please do extensive research before going the koi route. Join a koi club. See what it really takes before creating a money pit that may make you miserable.

Goldfish are a lot less hassle and headaches and heartaches if you don't know what you are doing and don't want to end up spending huge amounts of money. Been there!

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