Stallia

Stallia is the fourth plant obtained in Lost City in Plants vs. Zombies 2. It was first revealed in the Lost City Part 2 trailer and its gameplay function was revealed in the developer diary of the aforementioned update. Stallia slows zombies down in a 3x3 area and it does not cost any sun to plant. The perfume does not stack with other slowing effect, such as the chilling effect from Snow Pea, or the sap laid down by Sap-fling.

Etymology
Stallia is based on the flowers in the Dahlia genus. Its name is a portmanteau of "stall," which reflects its stalling ability, and the aforementioned "Dahlia."

Almanac entry
Sun cost: 0

AREA: 3x3

RANGE: Touch

RECHARGE: Sluggish

Stallias slow down zombies with a puff of perfume.

Usage: single use, activates when zombie is close

Special: slows nearby zombies

"Life moves too quickly in our modern world," says Stallia. "Folks need to slow down and smell some spores."

Plant Food upgrade
When fed with Plant Food, Stallia releases perfume that covers the entire screen in a purple shade for a split second, slowing all present zombies for ten seconds.

Strategies
Stallia fills in the middle ground between other slowing plants and instant use plants. Its main advantage is that it costs no sun to use, making it the earliest slowing choice available in the early game. However, Stallia's slow recharge and its lack of synergy with other slowing plants will greatly reduce its effectiveness later on as it will fail to control all lanes, although the use of Imitater may somewhat remedy its recharge problem.

When compared with Stunion, similarities between the plants are quite noticeable. They both stall zombies, and are earned on the same day in their respective worlds. They both prove to be more or less equally useful but situational. They are also both great in conjunction with the Ghost Pepper, Spikeweed, Spikerock, Cactus, or Lava Guava, as the zombies are forced to spend more time being haunted, spiked, or burned by the lava. Stunion costs the minimum amount of spendable sun, but it does not matter much as it can even be dug up. It has the ability to stun a group of zombies for a large amount of time, longer than Stallia's slowing time. However, it is locked to its lane. The weight on Stallia's scale is the fact that it can slow machine zombies in Far Future, something that Stunion and Chili Bean suffer. When it comes down to choosing, however, it is ultimately a preference of the player as they both have many good things to them.

Lastly, Hurrikale's ability to chill zombies has never been a very important aspect of it, as the focal point is on its pushing ability which efficiently delays zombie attacks. When compared to Hurrikale, Stallia is undesirable in some situations, due to the fact that even its slowing is not enough to delay the zombies if the player's defenses are still weak. This is especially true with flying zombies and zombies with a high amount of health points. In this sense, it is up to the player to determine what plant is adequate for the level if the situation is such that only one of them can be chosen.

The player should be cautious when using Stallia in the Dark Ages because Stallia can not stall Jester Zombies while they are spinning.

Trivia

 * Its Plant Food ability makes the same flash and sound as Iceberg Lettuce's. The only visual difference is that the flash is purple.
 * "Folks need to slow down and smell some spores" is a pun on the expression "Folks need to stop and smell the flowers."
 * When using an ice-based plant in combination with Stallia, the zombies will turn dark blue. The slowing effect does not stack however.
 * Before the 3.9 update, Stallia could be used in Last Stand levels.
 * Sometimes it will only activate when a zombie makes direct contact. Two examples are when a Gargantuar attempts to smash it or when Excavator Zombie tries to shovel it.
 * When a zombie is burned or electrocuted while still under the influence of Stallia's stalling effect, the perfume cloud will be still visible until that zombie disappears.
 * Its night cap costume is most likely a reference to its "sleepy looking" eyes.