Pumpkin

The Pumpkin is the third defensive structure in the game. Unlike the Wall-nut or Tall-nut, it does not take occupy a garden space for itself, allowing other plants (besides another Pumpkin or a Cob Cannon) to be planted, and protected, in the same spot. Other plants can also be placed in an empty Pumpkin. Pumpkins have the same health as the Wall-nut. Like the Wall-nut and the Tall-nut, you can plant a new Pumpkin over a damaged one without replanting it if you have purchased Wall-nut First Aid from Crazy Dave's shop.

Suburban Almanac Entry
Pumpkin

Pumpkins protects plants that are within their shells.

Toughness: High

Special: Can be planted over another plant.

Pumpkin hasn't heard from his cousin Renfield lately. Apparently Renfield's a big star, some kind of... what was it... sports hero? Peggle master? Pumpkin doesn't really get it. He just does his job.

Cost: 125

Recharge: Slow

Strategy
Pumpkins are excellent on later levels, where the player needs to take out as much space as possible. Catapult Zombies and Bungee Zombies always target the plant inside the Pumpkin first, so they are useless as protection against them. They can be used to buy time so that your plants have more time to take out Digger Zombies. The best plant to put inside a Pumpkin (for defensive purposes) is the Tall-nut, so Pole Vaulting Zombies or Dolphin Rider Zombies cannot jump over them, and the zombies will still have to eat the Tall-nut even if the Pumpkin is breached. Note, however, that it is not as efficient, sun-wise, as a Tall-nut alone; a Tall-nut and Pumpkin combo costs as much as two Tall-nuts, yet has less health than two. They are also useful for plants that the Imitater duplicates, because it protects them as they transform.

Don't put plants that are supposed to be eaten into a Pumpkin, such as Garlic or Hypno-shrooms. The zombies will have to eat the outside Pumpkin before eating the plant, so doing so will result in a waste of Sun. Pumpkins are usually good along with Potato Mines, as they give the Potato Mine time to arm, and once the zombies break through the Pumpkin, they will have come together onto one spot and will all be hit by the Potato Mine. The only problem with this is that, because of their larger horizontal hit-box, Football Zombies will trigger the Potato Mine while it is inside the Pumpkin, only killing some of the zombies as they will not all count as in range. As a result, it may make more sense to use a Wall-nut to protect the Potato Mine instead as it is cheaper and will allow time for all of the zombies to get in range.

Trivia

 * The Pumpkin's Suburban Almanac description references Renfield, a pumpkin in the game Peggle, another game by PopCap Games.
 * The Pumpkin is one of four plants that will slowly degrade as they are eaten. The others being the Wall-nut, Tall-nut, and Garlic. This is because these plants are Defensive plants.
 * This one of the two plants without "real" eyes as his eyes are simply hollowed out of his shell. The other plant is the Chomper, which has no eyes.
 * A Puff-shroom is too small for a Pumpkin, but when it shoots a spore, the spore somehow passes through the Pumpkin's shell and still damages the zombies.
 * When a Pumpkin with a plant inside is Squashed, it will have a flattened animation of the plant above a flattened pumpkin instead of a flattened version of the plant in the pumpkin.
 * A Starfruit lies on it's back if it's Pumpkin-less, but if a Pumpkin is added then it would be standing up.
 * This is the only plant aided by the Wall-Nut first aid, wich isn´t a nut.
 * Bungee Zombies can't take Pumpkins if they're surrounding another plant.
 * When you plant a Pumpkin around a Plant and then the pumpkin is eaten, the zombies will have to move forward a little to continue eating the plant that is inside the pumpkin.