Sun
Sun is a type of resource in the Plants vs. Zombies series that the player needs to build up their defenses (and zombies in I, Zombie levels). It is essential for creating defenses against zombies. It falls from the sky (daytime levels only) and is produced by sun plants. It is the plants' equivalent to brains.
During night levels, sun is collected only through sun-producing plants, e.g. Sun-shroom, or sun-containing tombstones in Dark Ages.
In Plants vs. Zombies, the player can also get sun from zombies by defeating them in certain levels (Whack a Zombie and Last Stand) and vases (Vasebreaker Endless only).
In Plants vs. Zombies 2, sun can also appear from tombstones in Dark Ages, Gold Tiles in Lost City, and vases in Vasebreaker. In the Chinese version, sun can be produced from Saisen Boxes.
Overview
Usage
Each plant costs a certain amount of sun to plant, limiting the number of plants that can placed on the lawn at a time. Planting is also limited by the recharge rate of the seed packets. Also, upgrade plants cannot be planted unless the plant of which they are an upgrade of has already been planted, even if the player has enough sun for them. The only plants that do not cost sun to plant are the Puff-shroom, its aquatic counterpart the Sea-shroom, and Imitater versions of them; and in Plants vs. Zombies 2, this also includes Iceberg Lettuce, Grave Buster, Hot Potato, the first Tile Turnip planted, Stallia, Level 20 Potato Mine, Level 10 E.M.Peach, Level 8+ Stunion, Level 5+ Lily Pad, Level 10 Shrinking Violet, Gold Bloom, Imp Pear, Solar Sage and all Power Mints.
Obtaining
Sun is obtained from sun-producing plants, such as the Sunflower, Twin Sunflower, and Sun-shroom, and falls from the sky approximately every 10 seconds when it is daytime. Sun Bean also has sun producing effects but, unlike other sun producing plants, he does not directly produce sun: instead causing the zombie that ate him to burst out tiny sun for every damage the zombie takes. Toadstool acts differently too, with her producing sun after consuming a zombie. The player starts every ordinary level with 50 sun (more if the player has the extra sun Power Ups or is using the Sun Bank Penny Perk in Penny's Pursuit), which is enough for one Sunflower or two Sun-shrooms. During the Night, Fog, and Dark Ages levels, sun producers are the only way to obtain sun, so these plants must be planted to obtain more than the starting 50 sun. Sunflowers produce one normal sun at a time, Twin Sunflowers produce two normal sun at a time, and Sun-shrooms produce small sun until they grow, after which they produce normal sun, growing once more to produce big sun in Plants vs. Zombies 2. Additionally, in Whack a Zombie, Zombiquarium, and Last Stand, zombies can drop sun.
Conveyor-belt levels
The player cannot obtain any sun in these levels. Instead, they are supplied with plants that come up from a conveyor belt, which do not cost any sun. However, the player can't use their own plants, as the plants are previously picked and the order of plants to come is random. However, in Modern Day - Day 34 and Modern Day - Day 44, if the player uses Plant Food on Moonflower (who is provided to boost the shadow plants in the level), she will still produce sun, although it will fade immediately.
Types of sun
Plants vs. Zombies
Small sun
- Produced only by non-grown Sun-shroom.
- It is worth 15 sun.
Normal sun
- Produced by Sunflowers, Twin Sunflowers (in groups of two), and by grown Sun-shrooms.
- Falls from the sky during daytime levels.
- It is worth 25 sun.
Large sun
- It is worth 50 sun.
- It falls from the sky in Sunny Day.
Plants vs. Zombies 2
Tiny sun
- Produced when a zombie that has eaten a Sun Bean takes damage, usually in large groups, or when a high-leveled sun-producing plant produces sun.
- It is worth 5 sun.
- It can also be produced by shoveling some plants with the shovel refund upgrade, providing 25-75% of the plant's original sun cost. The maximum amount of sun refund possible without purchasing with real money is 50%, and an additional 25% is available for USD $3.99.
- Free plants will never drop tiny sun, as they do not cost any sun to plant, and plants before Last Stand waves are started will instead reward 100% of the original cost, regardless of already existent sun refunds.
- In the Chinese Version, this can also worth 1 sun, this is obtainable through Sun Bean or shoveling plants with 25 or 75 in their sun costs assuming the player has maxed shovel refunds.
Small sun
- Produced by Sun-shrooms at small size and Moonflowers without nearby shadow plants.
- Dropped by #caketank when its third layer is removed.
- It is worth 25 sun.
Normal sun
- Produced by Sunflowers, Twin Sunflowers (in groups of two), Gold Blooms, by Sun-shrooms grown to medium size, a Toadstool swallowing a zombie, a Moonflower powered by one or three (two sun are given at once) shadow plants next to it, a Gold Tile, Solar Tomato when she stuns a zombie, Shine Vine, Solar Sage, zombies trapped by Sundew Tangler or Enlighten-mint.
- Falls from the sky in every world except for Dark Ages, even though it is technically night in Neon Mixtape Tour.
- It is worth 50 sun (25 before the 1.7 update).
- It can also appear after digging up some plants with shovel refund upgrades.
Large sun
- Produced by fully-grown Sun-shrooms, Primal Sunflowers, a Moonflower powered by two shadow plants next to it, or Gold Blooms.
- It is worth 75 sun.
Sun bombs
Sun bombs fall from the sky in Sun Bombs. They are purple until they touch the ground, after then it reverts to normal sun. If the sun bomb is tapped while it is still purple, any plants or zombies nearby will take damage, the sun bomb disappears, and then player will not be given any sun.
Audio
| Sound | Description |
|---|---|
| Sun being collected |
Sun costs
Plants vs. Zombies
Plants
| Plant | Sun cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Peashooter | 100 | |
| Sunflower | 50 | |
| Cherry Bomb | 150 | |
| Wall-nut | 50 | |
| Potato Mine | 25 | |
| Snow Pea | 175 | 150 in Versus Mode, 100 in Heavy Weapon |
| Chomper | 150 | |
| Repeater | 200 | 150 in Versus Mode, 1000 in Beghouled and Beghouled Twist |
| Puff-shroom | 0 | |
| Sun-shroom | 25 | |
| Fume-shroom | 75 | 500 in Beghouled and Beghouled Twist |
| Grave Buster | 75 | |
| Hypno-shroom | 75 | |
| Scaredy-shroom | 25 | |
| Ice-shroom | 75 | |
| Doom-shroom | 125 | 200 in Heavy Weapon |
| Lily Pad | 25 | |
| Squash | 50 | 75 in Versus Mode |
| Threepeater | 325 | 200 in Versus Mode, 400 in Heavy Weapon |
| Tangle Kelp | 25 | |
| Jalapeno | 125 | |
| Spikeweed | 100 | |
| Torchwood | 175 | 125 in Versus Mode and in Heavy Weapon |
| Tall-nut | 125 | 250 in Beghouled and Beghouled Twist |
| Sea-shroom | 0 | |
| Plantern | 25 | |
| Cactus | 125 | 100 in Versus Mode |
| Blover | 100 | |
| Split Pea | 125 | |
| Starfruit | 125 | 175 in Versus Mode |
| Pumpkin | 125 | |
| Magnet-shroom | 100 | |
| Cabbage-pult | 100 | |
| Flower Pot | 25 | |
| Kernel-pult | 100 | |
| Coffee Bean | 75 | 25 in Versus Mode |
| Garlic | 50 | 75 in Versus Mode |
| Umbrella Leaf | 100 | |
| Marigold | 50 | |
| Melon-pult | 300 | |
| Gatling Pea | 250 | Plus 200 for Repeater |
| Twin Sunflower | 150 | Plus 50 for Sunflower |
| Gloom-shroom | 150 | Plus 75 for Fume-shroom |
| Cattail | 225 | Plus 25 for Lily Pad, 200 in Heavy Weapon |
| Winter Melon | 200 | Plus 300 for Melon-pult |
| Gold Magnet | 50 | Plus 100 for Magnet-shroom |
| Spikerock | 125 | Plus 100 for Spikeweed |
| Cob Cannon | 500 | Plus 200 for two 100 sun Kernel-pults |
| Imitater |
Depends on plant being imitated | |
Zombies
| Zombie | Brain cost |
|---|---|
| Zombie | 50 |
| Conehead Zombie | 75 |
| Pole Vaulting Zombie | 75 |
| Buckethead Zombie | 125 |
| Screen Door Zombie | 100 |
| Football Zombie | 175 |
| Dancing Zombie | 350 |
| Balloon Zombie | 150 |
| Digger Zombie | 125 |
| Bungee Zombie | 125 |
| Ladder Zombie | 150 |
| Gargantuar | 300 |
| Imp | 50 |
In Survival: Endless, the sun cost of each upgrade plant will increase by 50 for every one of those planted. For example, the player's first Cattail will cost 225 sun, but their second Cattail will cost 275 sun.
Plants vs. Zombies: Endless Edition (Archived content) (China only)
| Plant | Sun cost |
|---|---|
| Oxygen Algae | 25 |
| Sea Starfruit | 75 |
| Bramble Sea Grass | 25 |
| Water Gun Grass | 25 |
| Electric Anemone | 300 |
| Strong Cauliflower | 175 |
| Machine Gun Pomegranate | 200 |
| Carrotillery | 150 |
| Oak Archer | 200 |
| Ghost Pepper | 200 |
| Laser Bean | 200 |
| Dandelion | 200 |
| Snapdragon | 200 |
| Bonk Choy | 200 |
Plants vs. Zombies Social Edition (Archived content) (China only)
| Plant | Sun cost |
|---|---|
| Pickled Pepper | 125 |
| Icy Fume-shroom | 200 |
| Fire-shroom | 75 |
| Flamewood | 300 |
| Vine-nut | 250 |
| Super Chomper | 150 |
| Future Star | 125 |
| Calm Chuck | 75 |
Plants vs. Zombies Adventures (Archived content)
Note: VIPs do not cost any sun.
| Plant | Sun cost |
|---|---|
| Peashooter | 100 |
| Sunflower | 50 |
| Aspearagus | 125 |
| Wall-nut | 50 |
| Cherry Bomb | 150 |
| Popcorn | 50 |
| Beet | 100 |
| Snow Pea | 125 |
| Jalapeño | 100 |
| Magnet Plant | 100 |
| Flaming Pea | 125 |
| Shamrock | 125 |
| Bamboo Shoot | 175 |
| Repeater | 100 |
| Chilly Pepper | 100 |
| Twin Sunflower | 50 |
Plants vs. Zombies 2
(China only)
Zomboss Test Lab zombies
| Zombie | Sun cost |
|---|---|
| Future Zombie | 50 |
| Future Conehead Zombie | 100 |
| Future Buckethead Zombie | 200 |
| Shield Zombie | 125 |
| Mecha-Football Zombie | 500 |
| Disco-tron 3000 | 300 |
| Gargantuar Prime | 600 |
Plants vs. Zombies Online (Archived content) (China only)
Free plants
| Plant | Sun cost |
|---|---|
| Peashooter | 100, 50 (first Peashooter when upgraded) |
| Sunflower | 50, 25 (first Sunflower when upgraded) |
| Wall-nut | 50 |
| Potato Mine | 25 |
| Cabbage-pult | 100 |
| Bloomerang | 175 |
| Grave Buster | 0 |
| Iceberg Lettuce | 0 |
| Magic Vine | 200 (150 when upgraded) |
| Pomegranate | 200 |
| Bonk Choy | 150 |
| Bruce Bamboo | 150 |
| Carrot Rocket | 125 |
| Dandelion | 200 |
| Venus Flytrap | 50 |
| Wax Gourd | 125 |
| Sod | 25 |
| Snapdragon | 150 |
| Spikeweed | 100 |
| Spring Bean | 50 |
| Kernel-pult | 100 |
| Coconut Cannon | 400 |
| Narcissus | 100 |
| Endurian | 135 |
| Spikerock | 250 |
| Pineapple-pult | 200 |
| Threepeater | 300 |
| Laser Bean | 200 |
| Blover | 50 |
| Citron | 350 |
| E.M.Peach | 25 |
| Tile Turnip | 0, then 250, then doubles |
| Ganoderma | 100 |
| Banana Tree | 150 |
| Nitration Mushroom | 100 |
| Infi-nut | 75 |
| Magnifying Grass | 50 |
| Oxygen Algae | 50 |
| Garlic | 75 |
| Bubble Flower | 125 |
| Electric Sea Pine | 200 |
Upgrade plants
| Plant | Sun cost |
|---|---|
| Twin Sunflower | 50 + 50 |
| Repeater | 100 + 100 |
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare
| Boss Mode abilities | Sun cost |
|---|---|
| Coconut Spotting Station | 75 |
| Revive Rainbow | 250 |
| Twin Heal Flower | 100 |
| Cherry Strike | 250 |
Related achievements
Plants vs. Zombies
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Plants vs. Zombies Adventures (Archived content)
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Plants vs. Zombies 2
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To much sun
Gallery
Sun in Plants vs. Zombies
Sun in the Nintendo DS version
Sun in the Java version
Big sun in Sunny Days
Sun in Plants vs. Zombies 2
Tiny red sun from Ra Zombie
Blue sun from Turquoise Skull Zombie
Sunbomb from Plants vs. Zombies 2
Sun card in Endless Zones
Sun in Plants vs. Zombies Heroes
Having the maximum amount of sun in Plants vs. Zombies
Reaching the maximum sun in Plants vs. Zombies 2
Sun sprites alongside most of the core sprites in Plants vs. Zombies 2
Another sprite file with sun sprites, including blue sun in Plants vs. Zombies 2
Sun falling from the sky (animated)
Sun falling from the sky in PVZ2 (animated)
Trivia
- The maximum amount of sun the player can get is 9990 in Plants vs. Zombies, 9900 in Plants vs. Zombies 2 and 33,464 in the Chinese version of Plants vs. Zombies 2 since the 1.6.1 update.
- Seeing Stars is a good way to max out the player's sun. If the player uses Garlic and Spikeweeds, along with a couple of Threepeaters, they can have all of the incoming zombies dying automatically with minimal effort, only needing to replenish a Garlic in the middle row. The rest of the empty squares can be filled with Sunflowers and they can collect sun without worrying about being overrun.
- However, in the Far Future trailer of Plants vs. Zombies 2, Tile Turnip's cost was shown at 64,000 sun. It is impossible for the player to do so without hacking. The maximum sun the player can collect is 9900, but Tile Turnip needs to be planted with 32,000 sun before the sun cost doubles twice to 64,000.
- This is probably because when PopCap is testing new plants, they have a developer mode that gives them infinite sun, no recharge and unlimited Plant Food.
- However, in the Chinese version, the player can achieve that sun cost, due to the new max sun amount increase, though it is very hard to accomplish.
- In Plants vs. Zombies, Survival: Endless levels and Co-op Endless are the only levels where the cost of plants rises (the cost of upgrade plants rising for every one of each type currently planted on the lawn).
- In Versus Mode, the zombie's currency is brains which works the same as sun. However, in I, Zombie, players can collect sun by eating Sunflowers. That is peculiar since zombies need brains, not sun like plants.
- In Last Stand puzzles and Last Stand in Plants vs. Zombies 2, the player can get back the sun cost of a plant (unless it is visibly damaged).
- Sun can be 3 colors. Regular sun is yellow, sun being stolen by Ra Zombie is red, and sun being stolen from Turquoise Skull Zombie is light blue.
- Sun Bombs are purple, so technically, sun can be 4 colors.
- Before the 1.8 update, sun in the Chinese version was worth 25, whereas the international is worth 50, making the Chinese version harder.
- Sun with its Plants vs. Zombies design appears in the title screen of Peggle Nights, another game made by PopCap Games. However, it was a long time before Plants vs. Zombies was announced, meaning this could have been a teaser for the game while it was early in development.
- In the Chinese version, digging up a plant in a conveyor-belt level with a sun refund upgrade will still create sun.
- In the Chinese version, the sun will be picked automatically when it touches the ground, unlike the international version, provided the player had a monthly in-app purchase.
See also
| V · T · E |
| Plants vs. Zombies | Money ( ;  ;  ) · Sun ( ) · Chocolate ( ) · Fertilizer ( ) · Bug Spray ( ) · Tree Food ( )
|
| Plants vs. Zombies Adventures | Coin ( ) · Zombuck ( ) · Gem ( ) · Sun ( )
|
| Plants vs. Zombies 2 | Money ( ;  ) · Sun () · Gem ( ) · Sprout ( ) · Gauntlet ( ) · Mint ( ) · Fuel ( )
|
| Plants vs. Zombies 2 (Chinese version) | Costume Voucher ( )
|
| Garden Warfare | Coin ( ) · Skip Challenge Star ( )
|
| Garden Warfare 2 | Coin () · Star · Rainbow Star · XP
|
| Plants vs. Zombies Heroes | Gem () · Coin ( ) · Spark ( ) · Tickets ( )
|
| Battle for Neighborville | Coin ( ) · Rainbow Star ( ) · Prize Bulbs ( ) · Tacos ( ) · Marshmallow ( ) · Sheriff badges ( ) · XP
|
| Plants vs. Zombies 3: Welcome to Zomburbia | Coin · Taco Ticket · Sun |
- Items
- Consumables
- Plants vs. Zombies Adventures
- Plants vs. Zombies
- Plants vs. Zombies 2
- Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare
- Plants vs. Zombies Online
- Plants vs. Zombies: Journey to the West
- Plants vs. Zombies 2 (Chinese version)
- Plants vs. Zombies: All Stars
- Plants vs. Zombies: Great Wall Edition
- Use Your Brainz EDU
- Plants vs. Zombies Adventures items
- Plants vs. Zombies items
- Plants vs. Zombies 2 items
- Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare items
- Plants vs. Zombies Online items
- Plants vs. Zombies: Journey to the West items
- Plants vs. Zombies 2 (Chinese version) items
- Plants vs. Zombies: All Stars items
- Plants vs. Zombies: Great Wall Edition items