Why is my aloe pup still a "pup"?

I was in the military for many years and in 2008, I was jogging one morning in a remote area on the base I was stationed at in San Antonio. I came across a clump of Purple Heart that was growing under a Pecan tree in the middle of a field...I stopped to check it out and hidden in the giant purple foliage was what appeared to be a small Aloe plant. I cleared some of the growth away and I found a huge woody root (?) covered in Aloe. The plants were about 2-3 feet in diameter and about 2 feet tall, it was so awesome. I think the wood part that they appeared to be growing on was actually part of an old mother plant. So, I picked off a small pup that was about 2-3 inches tall, with 3 stalks. I planned to go back and take more of the plant, but the base started construction the next day and I had no access to the tree. I potted the pup and placed it in a sunny, south facing window. It was slow going, but it didn't die- I was super happy with that. Well, I moved to Montana about a month later and brought my pup with me. It has been 2 years now, I've repotted him once and he seems to be growing, but I'm suprised that this plant doesn't seem to be growing in a rosette. I had many rosette-style Aloe growing in my front yard in TX and I assumed that once this new pup got started that it would take the shape I was used to seeing. As you can see in the picture, it has grown quite a bit, it is about 10 inches tall and has new growth. I have it in a 4" terra cotta pot in a southeast, bright sunny window. My question is: how long will it take for this plant to get to a mature-ish state? I almost feel like I should start staking it, it has become very wobbly and top heavy (suprising, since it's still pretty small). Does anyone know what type of Aloe it is? It seems very common, but I've never seen any grow straight up and down like this. Please ignore the burns on the leaves, my 10 year-old daughter was trying to "help" a few weeks ago and took it outside and left it in direct sun at the hottest part of the day for a few hours :-) Thanks!

There are hundreds of different types of aloes (I took a quick look at the plant files... there are 16 pages of aloes!), with lots of different shapes- not all will grow into rosettes. It looks like your aloe plant grows with alternating leaves on the two sides. This could very well be its normal growth habit. Were if the other plants where you took it from growing in a rosette?

It might benefit from more sun- though since it has been in the house, you'd need to gradually increase the amount of time in full sun each day- to avoid the sunburn problems.

It looks healthy.

I have found that if I water an aloe to much that they become tall and wobbly. The ones I have get watered very little and seem the happies because of it.

Thanks everybody! When I think about it, the other plants that were present when I took the pup weren't growing in rosettes, they were so clustered and dense that I think it was hard to tell and I didn't have much knowledge of aloes at the time. I am moving it outside on the porch where it will get some filtered light for a few hours a day in the hopes that it straightens up. I may have been overwatering, it's so dry here in the winter and I water about every two weeks. I'll probably go to about once a month since it's getting more humid during the "summer"- our summer in MT goes from 75 one day to 40 the next with night time temps dropping to below 30. I can't believe anything grows here :-) We had snow recently at the end of May and last year it snowed in the middle of June. Geez. Thanks for your help all!

I have a lot of aloe. I have had both the type that form leaves around the total center of the plant, with babies that come out the sides, and this type that sends leaves out on each side to start. Note it will begin to send out leaves or kinda "twist" itself for balance while sending out more leaves.

It takes a long time for the Aloe to get to a mature size.So it will be a "pup" for a while longer. It does not take it long to send out babies tho. My experience is that the ones I have started with babies at less then 5 inches tall.

The one you have I think is tipping because the roots, again I think are shallow, and the plant is not "digging in".
The lighting you have has something to do with this.. i.e. how it is growing. I would call it reaching for the light. At some point you might want to put a larger rock to help support it, or small twig / branch, or anything that will help keep it upright if it makes you feel better, (the plant really does not care) Watch out for things you take from outside to help support it.... bugs, or funky things that might grow on it, bark of a twig / branch, that might mess with your plant. The rock will also absorb some of the water (I know that is hard to believe), keep that in mind when watering. Don't water too much. Less water will make the roots dig deeper to get to the water, (water from the bottom), Also get a deeper pot that will help the roots dig.

I took a look at one of my small aloe before posting that looked like yours and there is 3 "shoots" (it is about two years old and 9 inches tall). The largest shoot has begun to send out enough leaves to balance itself out, one of it's babies is like yours exactly, leaves on two sides, and the littlest baby had only 4 leaves on it, two on each side.

Don't worry about your plant too much, you might want to use more sand in the soil or add some cactus mix. The plant will only be that bright aloe green color indoors, or in filtered shade. If left outside it will be more brown/green. Of course they will burn if left out in the sun if it is not accustomed to direct full daily "sunshine".

Personally, I do not think it is a wise idea to take these kind of plants outside in summer, too easy to forget they are there and the damage, when done is hard to undue..

Check the net for different types of aloe plant pics. There are tons of them.

NYGrower- thank you for so much info! It is very helpful...I am trying to find the right spot inside to place it and will start watering from underneath. It is potted in a cactus mix with some regular potting soil. I'm also glad to know that my little aloe isn't abnormally small ;-) Thanks again! The attached pic is the type of aloe that I was used to growing before I found this guy.