if i am reading your question right, you are having trouble with them standing upright while you are building them. what i did last weekend was put my bucket down inside a 55 gal. drum and my trash can ( the big green kind the county gives us) it kept the cane from spreading out too much and they didn't blow over in the 20+ mph winds.

i made some shorter ones and used a chain and rachet strap between 2 big oaks about chest high, stuck the cane in the buckets and put a bungee cord around the cane attached to the strap/chain while it dried.

that wind was blowing so bad i had to improvise on the fly.

gotta get em in the lake this weekend.