Hmm, I hadn't considered hardware cloth. I try to avoid it if it's that metal stuff. I'm cut and scrape prone. Is yours shiny? The leaves would be mashed against the inside of it and it might not be very attractive if it is.
Large-holed horse or cattle fencing would probably be ideal, with a couple of decent metal stakes to fasten it to. The leaves would grow through it and hide it somewhat. I've seen others just tie up the plant with a piece of ribbon, but then again, it's really mashed together that way.
The sectioned grow-through supports work great, once you know what height they need to be. The ones we have on hand here are just too short.