the plant will get bigger and will suport itself. alot of cuttings start sm. but all get lg. just got 3 about 3/8" but as they grow they will be fine.

I agree. Remember that the diameter of the trunk will increase as the plant grows. Also, your roots are going to fill out a large pot very quickly once it goes outside and the weather warms up. This is a cutting I took last fall.
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It had to be chain-sawed down because of the diameter...It was probably a little larger than the cuttings you're talking about when I planted it last spring, but the trunk wasn't anywhere near that big around then!

So, the diameter of the cutting will get bigger with the rest of the plant? Wow! That's good to know. Thanks!

Nixon, I was thinking about what I said to you before...I had forgotten about this until now, but sometime last year (mid-summer I think), we had some really high winds and I had a new brug in the ground get blown over pretty hard. It was about 5' tall probably and I was really taking good care of it so most of it was new growth. Never could get it to stand back up straight but got lots of lateral branches this way! Since you are in The Windy City maybe you should make sure they're in protected spots from the wind or staked until the trunks are really strong.