What kind of reinforcement are you planning? If you are hammering rebar steel down in the ground first, then yes it should hold up. In areas with good loose soil keeping a heavy one (top heavy) standing straight may be difficult.

If you are drilling holes through each piece of glass and threading them on a pipe, then being heavy should not be an issue.

I've only used the marbles, which do add weight, on the totems that sit flat on the ground or upon a stone pedestal. So I do not know by experience.

I use a stake for my teacup (light weight) bird feeder totems.

The plates catching water is good for butterflies, wasps, bees (and mosquitoes if left standing too long). In dry weather it could be used as a bird seed tray. So the owner of the totem will have to pull it up out of the ground and spill the water out.

After gluing the piece together I like to put my totems on a lazy susan. I twirl the totem around and smooth the glue with my finger to make it as airtight as possible. Sometimes I will glue marble blobs over the seams to hide the glue. susie

I haven't made totems yet, but when making plate flowers I keep a small bowl of dish soapy water nearby to dip my finger in before smoothing the silicone. A trick I learnd from my dh.
kathy

Welcome Rhonda!

I've only made totems that sit on the ground so far, but all of the above advice is very good! Susie makes beautiful totems! My other suggestion is to wait several days before moving the totem...it needs to cure well so the pieces won't shift. I would think that the PVC pipe would be heavy enough to support the type of totem you're talking about though. Can't wait to see your projects!