Mine has bloomed 4 times this summer.

Very nice. Thanks for taking the time to post and be sure to thank your mother for us. tj

This person says it all! Thanks Han for sharing.. So, you may ask, why won't just the scion continue to grow and produce a tall cactus? Sometimes, they do. However, cacti such as the one in your pic -- generally referred to as "Moon Cacti" -- don't grow very large because the type of cactus used for the root stock (usually a Hylocereus) isn't very long-lived on it's own, and the scion is usually aGymnocalycium mihanovichii, which has been genetically altered to destroy its chlorophyll. What you have, then, is a plant consisting of a root stock that won't live very long and a scion that cannot live at all without the root stock. That combination doesn't make for a plant capable of becoming very large, simply because it cannot live long enough. It is possible to re-graft the scion onto a different root stock of a longer-lived variety, but without that intervention, you just have an interesting little plant suitable for a windowsill. Moon cacti are produced by the millions, and are sold solely for their unusual appearance.

Depends on whether or not the plant is completely red or not. In this occasion, since you did not specify its exact color. a photo would be very helpful. If the plant lacks chlorophyll- the red, pink, orange and yellowish cultivars need to be grafted at all times - they cant live on their own. The purple ones can- albeit growth speed and durability may vary. You may place them in coarse soil and see what happens - there was a topic about degrafting.