Hi Rosepedals, Are you talking about surprise lilies and naked ladies when you say "magic lilies group"? Lycoris radiata and lycoris squamagera are what I have, the radiata is a deep pinky-red and the squamagera is a light pink. Let me know. I'd like to have a nice sized aloe, the one that gets big, and hope we can trade. Thanks, Nancy

http://faq.gardenweb.com/discussions/2765911/how-do-i-care-for-my-aloe-vera-plant "Many aloes produce 'pups'. When the pup is fully formed, detach it from the mother plant, let it callus over for a few days in a cool, dry area, and pot it up. If it has roots, pot as you would a regular aloe, allowing for the fact that it is smaller and should be in a suitably sized pot for its size. If it has no roots, let it callus over, place the cut/broken end ON the soil, and support it with top dressing. DO NOT WATER IT-it has no roots, so watering the soil will likely cause rot. Instead, mist it every few days. Roots should start forming within a month. When growth is evident, it can be watered."

There seems to be some confusion again with common names - Aloe vera is Aloe vera :-) Although that term is sometimes used to refer to ANY kind of aloe, there are not two species of true or common, aka medicinal aloe. There ARE many species of aloe....as many as 400 have been registered but true aloe, Aloe vera (formerly Aloe barbadensis), is the one noted for medicinal purposes. There is some documentation that Aloe arborescens also has similar medicinal properties but as the species name suggests, this has a much more tree-like growth habit and develops a distinct stem or trunk. The difference in growth habits between the two plants shown in the pics is simply due to age and maturity. Aloe vera will form a full rosette if given sufficient time and proper growing conditions. Check the Wiki photo linked below. The smaller ones that appear to only grow laterally rather than in a round rosette of leaves are just young, immature plants (offsets or pups) and hampered from full development by lack of time and indoor growing conditions. Here is a link that might be useful:

Certainly not here to dispute the name of the Lowes plant. I bought a couple of the same plants, chuckling to myself that ALL of the aloes were labeled Aloe vera. Mine are PIG, growing well and curiously have lost their spots. You can see some of the spots remain on the bottom, oldest leaves. So I'm pondering the label again. Of course it hasn't flowered yet (about 3 years old), which will add to the info. I guess I wonder if Aloe vera pups start with spots. I have no pups to compare. My plant does not look like the OP's first plants. This post was edited by Crenda on Thu, Aug 7, 14 at 10:23