How do you grow sugar cane?

I tried sugarcane in my home garden this year for the first time. My ag agent gave me 2 stalks about 30 inches (80 cm) long last Fall. I laid them down horizontally about 8 inches deep in a mound of soil so they would not get water logged, freeze, or dry out. In the spring when it warmed up a bit, I dug them up and saw roots coming out of the nodes. I planted each node about 3 inches deep. Two of the 14 that I planted came up. I dug up a couple of the nodes that did not come up and found they had rotted. They may have been planted too soon: perhaps the sprouts should have developed more before they were separated, and the weather and ground should have been warmer. Also we had a very wet spring and they may have drowned. The two that survived became large clumps. What do I do with them now? Jerry

Palestine, TX 75801, zone 8.