Question: I want to grow aloe vera plants to use in making some lotions. My friend has an aloe plant in her house that is doing so well that it has flowers. Mine is just sitting there doing nothing.

Prized for the soothing gel that comes from its leaves, aloe vera is part of the 420-species Aloe genus and was formerly known as Aloe barbadensis. Aloe vera is commonly grown as a houseplant, but you ...