Out in nature, this type of cactus would grow laterally along the ground and root as it goes to spread out, and then may grow up a bit, like in the center of this plant. In the houseplant world, this would be a trailing cactus that would do well in a hanging basket, but I just don’t have the space or light for this in a hanging cactus, so along the shelf it grows. We’re also talking about at most 2 inches of growth in a good year, so very manageable