There are 49 different types of plants in the game; they serve as your line of defence between you and the zombies. Each plant has its own special attributes, stengths and weaknesses that may help or hinder them when battling the zombies. You initially start Adventure Mode with only one type of plant, but most levels in Adventure Mode will reward you with a new type of plant upon victory.
In addition, eight of the 49 plants are "upgrade plants" which serve to improve the capabilities of existing plants, and one plant (Imitater) is neither a normal nor an upgrade plant.
Finally, there are two plants only available in the "Wall-nut Bowling" minigame and its sequel.
The order of the plants on this page is the order they appear in the "Suburban Almanac"; the in-game bio of each plant and zombie.
Peashooter
- Type: Offensive - Long-range
- Damage: Normal
- Cost: 100 sun
- Recharge: Fast
Peashooter is the first plant you obtain in the game. When a zombie enters his lane he will fire a pea every 1.5 seconds at the zombie. Each pea does 20 damage, and it takes 10 peas to kill a basic zombie. While Peashooter is your first plant, he should be phased out in favour of stronger plants later on.
Sunflower
- Type: Sun-producing
- Sun Production: Normal
- Cost: 50 sun
- Recharge: Fast
- Can Be Upgraded
Sunflower is the first sun-producing plant you obtain, and the primary one in daytime levels. Sunflowers produce extra sun, one unit at a time every 24 seconds, allowing you to plant more plants. As a general rule, the player should try to plant at least one column of them, although two to three columns may be used to allow for a wider range of tactical choices.
When Twin Sunflower is bought, it can be planted on normal Sunflowers to produce twice the sun as a normal one.
Cherry Bomb
- Type: Offensive - Instant-kill
- Damage: Kills most zombies instantly
- Cost: 150 sun
- Recharge: Very slow
Cherry Bomb is the first instant-kill plant obtained. After being planted they will expand for 1.2 seconds and then detonate, dealing 1800 damage to all zombies in a 3x3 area around themselves (which will instantly kill most zombies).
Wall-nut
- Type: Defensive
- Toughness: High
- Cost: 50 sun
- Recharge: Slow
Wall-nut is the first defensive plant obtained. While it takes most zombies five to six bites to eat most plants, Wall-nut can absorb 40 bites, his appearance changing based on how much health he has left. He is also the standard ammo in the "Wall-nut Bowling" minigame.
Potato Mine
- Type: Offensive - Instant-kill
- Damage: Kills most zombies instantly
- Cost: 25 sun
- Recharge: Slow
Potato Mine, as his name suggests, is the plant equivalent of the landmine. When he is planted, he will need 14 seconds to arm himself before surfacing, during which he is vulnerable to being eaten. After that, when a zombie steps on him he will detonate, dealing 1800 damage to that zombie and leaving behind a comic-esque "SPUDOW!".
Snow Pea
- Type: Offensive - Long-range
- Damage: Normal, but slows zombie movement
- Cost: 175 sun
- Recharge: Fast
Snow Pea looks similar to Peashooter, but he is blue, and his peas are frozen. When a zombie is hit by a frozen pea it will be slowed to half its original speed and will eat at a slower pace. Additional Snow Peas will not slow down the zombies any further, so only one column should be used.
Chomper
- Type: Offensive - Instant-kill
- Damage: Instantly kills one zombie
- Cost: 150 sun
- Recharge: Fast
Think of Chomper as a re-usable Potato Mine of sorts. He will instantly eat the first zombie that gets close, but he then requires 42 seconds to chew his meal, making him vulnerable to attack. He works best when planted just behind a defensive plant such as Wall-nut. He also works well as a backup or when one zombie has gotten past your main defences.
Repeater
- Type: Offensive - Long-range
- Damage: Normal (for each pea)
- Cost: 200 sun
- Recharge: Fast
- Can Be Upgraded
Unlike Peashooter, Repeater fires two peas at a time. This means it will take more time to deploy him initially, but he will prove to be much more useful as the level progresses.
Repeater can be upgraded to Gatling Pea, which shoots 4 peas at once. Gatling Pea is useful for taking out stronger zombies.
Puff-shroom
- Type: Offensive - Short-range
- Damage: Normal
- Cost: 0 sun
- Recharge: Fast
- Sleeps during the day
Puff-shroom is the first night plant obtained. He can be planted very quickly since he does not require any sun. To attack he fires spores that deal the same damage as peas, but he can only fire up to three spaces ahead, so he will have difficulty combating stronger zombies. He basically serves the role of "cannon fodder"; he is meant to be planted and eaten in great quantities to stall the horde.
Sun-shroom
- Type: Sun-producing
- Sun Production: Low, then normal
- Cost: 25 sun
- Recharge: Fast
- Sleeps during the day
Sun-shroom is essentially a nighttime version of Sunflower. When initially planted he will only give out 15 sun at a time, but after two minutes he will grow in size and will begin producing 25 sun like Sunflower. This makes him more efficient than Sunflower in nighttime levels, but it is not advised to use him in the day.
Fume-shroom
- Type: Offensive - Short-range
- Cost: 75 sun
- Recharge: Fast
- Sleeps during the day
- Can Be Upgraded
Fume-shroom fires fumes that will pass through shields such as screen doors and ladders. He also can fire up to four spaces in comparison to Puff-shroom's three. In addition, his fumes will damage all zombies in their area of effect.
Fume-Shroom can be upgraded to Gloom-Shroom, which shoots fumes in 8 directions, hitting every zombie in an area of effect. Useful if planted behind defensive plants.
Grave Buster
- Type: Environment modifier
- Effect: Destroys graves, single use.
- Cost: 75 sun
- Recharge: Fast
Grave Buster is only used during the nighttime levels when graves appear on the lawn. During the final wave, extra zombies rise from the graves, plus they take up space that could be used for planting. When planted on a grave, Grave Buster will destroy the grave, leaving behind a silver or occasionally gold coin. However, he takes five seconds to actually destroy the grave, so you must defend him from zombies while he's working.
Hypno-shroom
- Type: Offensive - Instant-kill, mushroom
- Cost: 75 sun
- Recharge: Slow
- Sleeps during the day
When Hypno-shroom is eaten, the zombie that ate him will be hypnotised, turning purple. The zombie is now an ally, and it will turn around and attack its former comrades. The zombie will typically retain its special abilities, but will use them for the player's benefit.
Scaredy-shroom
- Type: Offensive - Long-range
- Damage: Normal
- Cost: 25 sun
- Recharge: Fast
- Sleeps during the day
Scaredy-shroom has a long range like Peashooter, so he is able to fire at zombies from a long way away. However, if the zombies get within 2 spaces in front of him he will duck down and stop shooting. Scaredy-shroom is best kept at the back of your defences to be effective, and he complements Fume-shroom and Puff-shroom well.
Ice-shroom
- Type: Instant-effect, mushroom
- Damage: Very light, immobilises zombies
- Cost: 75 sun
- Recharge: Very slow
- Sleeps during the day
Ice-shroom doesn't damage zombies. Rather, upon planting he freezes all the zombies on screen, stopping their movement. The zombies will gradually start moving again, but your plants will have ample opportunity to deal damage before that happens.
Doom-shroom
- Type: Offensive - Instant-kill, mushroom
- Damage: Kills most zombies instantly
- Cost: 125 sun
- Recharge: Very slow
- Sleeps during the day
Doom-shroom is essentially a supercharged Cherry Bomb. He has a larger area-of-effect than Cherry Bomb (7x5 vs 3x3), but the trade-off is that he creates a crater in the space he was planted on, which cannot be planted on. The crater does eventually disappear after three minutes, but Doom-shroom is mostly for emergencies.
Lily Pad
- Type: Environment modifier
- Cost: 25 sun
- Recharge: Fast
- Must be planted in water
- Can Be Upgraded
Lily Pad is an aquatic plant that allows you to plant a non-aquatic plant on top of him. He can also hold up zombies slightly, for the zombie must eat the plant on top of Lily Pad, then Lily Pad himself. Note that Potato Mines and other underground plants cannot be planted on Lily Pad.
Lily Pad can be upgraded to Cat-tail, which can shoot spikes at any zombie in any lane. Cat-tail is often considered the most powerful pool plant.
Squash
- Type: Offensive - Instant-kill
- Damage: Kills most zombies instantly
- Cost: 50 sun
- Recharge: slow
Squash is a de-facto upgrade for Potato Mine. Unlike Potato Mine, Squash is ready to go from the instant he's planted. When a zombie gets within one space (forward or behind) of Squash he will jump and crush the offending zombie. He is also able to destroy close-packed groups of zombies.
Threepeater
- Type: Offensive - Long-range
- Damage: Normal (each pea)
- Cost: 325 sun
- Recharge: Fast
Threepeater is a very expensive but powerful plant which fires peas across three lanes. He's the equivalent of a column of three Peashooters in the space of one. Placed strategically, just two Threepeaters can cover the whole lawn.
Tangle Kelp
- Type: Offensive - Instant-kill
- Damage: Kills most zombies instantly
- Cost: 25 sun
- Recharge: Slow
- Must be planted in water
Tangle Kelp is the Squash of the pool. When a zombie gets near him, he will pull the zombie underwater, instantly killing it.
Jalapeno
- Type: Offensive - Instant-kill
- Damage: Kills most zombies instantly
- Cost: 125 sun
- Recharge: Very slow
Jalapeno destroys all zombies in one lane, no matter where along the lane he is planted. He can also melt the ice trails left by Zomboni.
Spikeweed
- Type: Offensive - Area of effect
- Damage: 5 damage over time/instant death to vehicles but also itself
- Cost: 100 sun
- Recharge: Fast
- Can Be Upgraded
Spikeweed will hurt zombies that step on him. He can also pop the tires of a Zomboni or Catapult Zombie, killing them instantly after a delay, but he will be destroyed in the process.
Spikeweed can be upgraded to Spikerock, which can survive Zomboni and Catapult Zombie, as well as do more damage. Useful when planted at the front of the lane or in front of Wallnut or Tallnut
Torchwood
- Type: Offensive - Boost
- Damage: None on his own, doubles damage of peas
- Cost: 175 sun
- Recharge: Fast
Torchwood is a powerful plant that serves to boost the damage of pea-shooting plants. Any peas that pass through him will turn into fireballs, doubling their damage, and allowing them to deal splash damage. If a frozen pea passes through him it will thaw out and turn into a regular pea. He can also clear fog if it is present.
Tall-nut
- Type: Defensive
- Toughness: High
- Cost: 125 sun
- Recharge: Slow
- Special: Cannot be vaulted or jumped over
Tall-nut is a tall, heavy-duty version of Wall-nut. He can take more damage before being eaten (around 80 bites), and he cannot be vaulted or jumped over by zombies such as Pole Vaulting Zombie.
Sea-shroom
- Type: Offensive - Short-range
- Damage: Normal
- Cost: 0 sun
- Recharge: Slow
- Must be planted in water
- Sleeps during the day
Sea-shroom is essentially a water version of Puff-shroom, shooting short-ranged spores. He serves a similar role as "cannon fodder", though this is somewhat limited due to his slow recharge rate.
Plantern
- Type: Environment modifier
- Toughness: Normal
- Cost: 25 sun
- Recharge: Slow
Plantern serves to clear away fog in levels where it is present. He also appears in the Vasebreaker puzzles where he can reveal the contents of nearby vases.
Cactus
- Type: Offensive - Long-range
- Damage: Normal
- Cost: 125 sun
- Recharge: Fast
Cactus shoots spikes that damage zombies at the same rate as peas. She is introduced as a counter to Balloon Zombies: when she sees one, she will stretch up to shoot a spike to pop its balloon, dropping it to the ground.
Blover
- Type: Environment modifier
- Cost: 125 sun
- Recharge: Fast
When Blover is planted, he will spin his leaves rapidly to blow away any fog. Any Balloon Zombies present will also be blown away and instantly killed.
Split Pea
- Type: Offensive - Long-range
- Damage: Normal
- Cost: 125 sun
- Recharge: Fast
Split Pea is a combination of a forward-shooting Peashooter and a backward-shooting Repeater, which permits him to shoot peas forward and backward. He is introduced as a counter to Digger Zombies and other zombies that can get behind the player's defenses.
Starfruit
- Type: Offensive - Long-range
- Damage: Normal
- Cost: 125 sun
- Recharge: Fast
Starfruit shoots stars in five directions, along the points of a star. His main role is to help attack lanes other than his own.
Pumpkin
- Type: Defensive
- Toughness: High
- Cost: 125 sun
- Recharge: Slow
Pumpkin has the unique ability to be planted on another plant, and he will protect the plant inside him. This makes him useful for protecting plants in more vulnerable locations.
Magnet-shroom
- Type: Defensive
- Toughness: High
- Cost: 100 sun
- Recharge: Fast
- Sleeps during the day
Magnet-shroom can remove helmets and other metal objects from zombies, allowing him to quickly neutralise powerful threats such as Buckethead Zombies and Football Zombies. However, after stealing a metal object he needs 15 seconds to recover before he can steal another object.
Cabbage-pult
- Type: Offensive - Long-range
- Damage: Normal
- Cost: 100 sun
- Recharge: Fast
Cabbage-pult is the first catapult plant introduced. He is also the first roof plant introduced - normal long-range plants have difficulty on the roof due to its slant blocking straight projectiles, so catapult plants must be used. As his name suggests, Cabbage-pult launches cabbages, which do twice the damage of a pea, at half of Peashooter's firing rate.
Flower Pot
- Type: Environment modifier
- Cost: 25 sun
- Recharge: Fast
Flower Pot is the Lily Pad of the roof, allowing you to plant another plant on top of him.
Kernel-pult
- Type: Offensive - Long-range
- Damage: Light (kernel), normal (butter)
- Cost: 100 sun
- Recharge: Fast
- Can Be Upgraded
Normally Kernel-pult lobs corn kernels at zombies at the same rate as Cabbage-pult, the kernels doing the same damage as a pea. However, he has a 25% chance of instead launching butter, which will do more damage and stun the zombie for 5 seconds upon impact.
Kernel-pult can be upgraded to Cob Cannon, which can be made if one placed two rows of Kernel-pults and then placed the upgrade on top of two of the Kernel-pults. Cob Cannon can destroy any tile on the map, instantly killing any zombies around or on the tile, but has a really slow reload time.
Coffee Bean
- Type: Environment modifier
- Cost: 75 sun
- Recharge: Fast
Coffee Bean allows you to use mushrooms during the day. Normally, mushrooms will sleep in daytime levels, but Coffee Bean can be planted on them to wake them up.
Garlic
- Type: Defensive
- Toughness: High
- Cost: 50 sun
- Recharge: Fast
When a zombie bites Garlic, it will make a disgusted face and a "BLECH!" noise, before moving to the lane above or below its current lane. This makes Garlic useful to funnel zombies down lanes with greater defences.
Umbrella Leaf
- Type: Defensive
- Toughness: Normal
- Cost: 50 sun
- Recharge: Fast
Umbrella Leaf has the ability to protect plants from Bungee Zombies and the basketballs lobbed by Catapult Zombie. When these come down on the plants in a 3x3 area around Umbrella Leaf he will spring up to block the projectile/zombie.
Marigold
- Type: Money-producing
- Sun Production: Normal
- Cost: 50 sun
- Recharge: Slow
Every 24 seconds Marigold will produce either a silver or a gold coin, gold coins being rarer than silver ones. Whilst this makes her useless in standard gameplay, she can be useful in the Last Stand minigame for money farming.
Melon-pult
- Type: Offensive - Long-range
- Damage: Heavy
- Cost: 300 sun
- Recharge: Fast
- Can Be Upgraded
Sun-for-damage, Melon-pult delivers the biggest punch of all non-upgrade plants. The melons he launches deal the equivalent of four peas of damage to the zombie hit, and splash damage to surrounding zombies.
Melon-pult can be upgraded to Winter Melon, which is a combination of Snow Pea's frost effect and Melon-pult's crazy damage. Winter Melon is often considered the most powerful in terms of damage and ability.