I'm not sure what you mean by budding. Do you mean you have a cutting that is putting on new growth? If so that's my experience. I'm also a novice dragon fruit grower. I got four cuttings off ebay early this summer and three of them rooted and began putting on new growth very rapidly, like within two weeks, though the fourth took a couple of months. Mine are now in what I hope is a permanent pot with a support and are outdoors in full sun. I think they like a moderate amount of water, being jungle, not desert, cactus, but need well drained soil. I water mine if we haven't had rain for a couple of days.

Here is a link that might be useful: Helpful Dragon Fruit Site