Cordyline – growth and wet soil

At the bottom of my garden is a river with a large bank which is understandably nearly always wet.I would like to plant some Cordylines down there but am worried about the wet soil.Do you think they would be suitable?Does it take long for them to become established?Ideally I would like to plant Palm trees but they are quite costly and not within my budget.Also, the soil is very sandy.