Apple Mortar

Apple Mortar is a premium plant in Plants vs. Zombies 2, released in the 5.3 update. It is the third plant released not based on a world or event, after Kiwibeast and Bombegranate. It attacks by lobbing apple cores in three lanes, in a similar manner as a Threepeater or a powered Dusk Lobber. These apple cores deal damage and stun zombies for half a second.

Origins
Its name is most likely a reference to the 2-inch Medium Mortar, also known as the "Toffee Apple" due to its shape when loaded with a bomb.

Plant Food effect
When fed Plant Food, Apple Mortar lobs big apples at every zombies on screen. These apples stun zombies and do varying amount of damages, depending on how many zombies are on screen. It can deal anywhere from 2.5 to 5 normal damage shots.

Costumed
When it has its costume on its Plant Food effect, Apple Mortar lobs big purple apples that stun and poisons zombies on screen.

Strategies
Though Apple Mortar looks weak at first, Apple Mortar can be a great help if given enough support. Apple Mortar is great for handling small groups of zombies, and can stall single zombies indefinitely if there are large numbers of the plant. However, Apple Mortar struggles to keep up in horde situations. Stalling plants like Hurrikale and Chard Guard are good choices to take with Apple Mortar, since they help to keep zombies away from Apple Mortar. Apple Mortar is great with handling zombies that tend to shield themselves from straight projectiles such as Tomb Raiser Zombie, Barrel Roller Zombie, Excavator Zombie, Troglobite, and Arcade Zombie. Apple Mortar can also deal with groups of Seagull Zombies, Jetpack Zombies, Dodo Rider Zombies, Bug Zombies, and Balloon Zombies as they have 3 lane effectiveness. Area-of-effect plants such as Laser Bean, Fume-shroom, and Snapdragon also works well with Apple Mortar, as the area-of-effect damage makes it much easier for Apple Mortar to stun-lock and defeat several zombies at once. Pairing them with Sweet Potato is a good choice. Apple Mortar also works very well with Primal Peashooter as a combination of these can stun zombies for a longer period and push them back, making them an excellent counter against zombies who can push your defenses back such as Punk Zombie and Mecha-Football Zombie. In addition, they are effective for stalling strong units such as Pharoah Zombie, Zombie Bull, and Newspaper Zombie.

In Big Wave Beach, Apple Mortar can help fight off zombies that can not be hit by most offensive plants such as Snorkel Zombies. They can also stun Surfer Zombies to allow other powerful plants to finish him off. Furthermore, 2 rows of these plants can quickly get rid of octopi with 3 shots from each Apple Mortar, which can make them a way for other plants to easily deal with Octo Zombies.

In Lost City, Apple Mortar is great choice for stalling Imp Porters and Turquoise Skull Zombies, especially if you have 3 of them which can easily destroy them before they can cause any harm to your plants. Combining this plant with Spore-shroom is also a great choice.

In Jurassic Marsh, Apple Mortar is a great plant to use during the start of levels, because of the coverage it can provide for multiple lanes at a relatively low sun cost. This can help to fight against the early swarms of weak zombies that Jurassic Marsh likes to send out. It is highly recommended to bring Hurrikale and Perfume-shroom, to help to deal with dinosaurs (especially the T-rex) and any zombies that get thrown into your defense.

Avoid using Apple Mortar against Jester Zombies and Parasol Zombies, since they will deflect Apple Mortar's projectiles.

In Endless Zones, Apple Mortar can be used as a setup offensive plant to hold off zombies while building up sun-production, and can transition into a good support plant later on. It is not recommended to use Apple Mortar as the only offensive plant in Endless Zones though, as the high amounts of zombies that come in later levels will give Apple Mortar an incredibly difficult time. Splash damage plants like Coconut Cannon, Melon-pult, Winter Melon, Dandelion and Dusk Lobber will be able to support Apple Mortar very well. An alternative to use in higher levels is Sap-fling, however the trade-off is offense for more defense.

Trivia

 * It is the first apple-based plant in Plants vs. Zombies 2.
 * Not counting the unnamed computer apples in L.E.A.F. headquarters in Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, it also makes it the first plant based on an apple to appear in international games.
 * It bears a striking resemblance to A.K.E.E.
 * Coincidentally, most of Apple Mortar's sounds are recycled from A.K.E.E.'s.
 * It, Dusk Lobber, Homing Thistle, Pea-nut, Pepper-pult and Dandelion are the only projectile-shooting plants that do not have a fast recharge speed.
 * It is one of three premium lobbed-shot plants, the others being Sap-fling and Blooming Heart.
 * It is the only one of the three to not look like a normal lobbed-shot plant, as it has no rope to lob its projectile.
 * An advertisement for it references the legend of how Sir Isaac Newton began his work on gravity. Supposedly, Newton was sitting under an apple tree and an apple fell next to him. The apple caused him to wonder why things fall, thus beginning his interest in gravity.
 * If an apple core strikes a Dodo Rider Zombie while it is flying, it will immediately ground it. However, upon being grounded, it will commence flight again. This has no effect in a real situation except for giving ground plants a small window to attack it, except that if a Dodo Rider Zombie is grounded over a slider tile, it will use the slider, making this plant an effective way to stop Dodo Riders from bypassing sliders.
 * Its ability resembles the 2-4 Mortar in Bloon Tower Defence 5 as they both have 3 mortars and stun enemies, their special ability are both Whole Screen as well.
 * In the Epic Quest entitled "Premium Seeds - Applemortar!", Apple Mortar is mistakenly referred as "Applemortar."
 * In addition, an advertisement of the said Epic Quest in the Menu screen mistakenly referred it as "Apple Motar."
 * Apple Mortar and Blooming Heart are the only plants that ranges from 2.5 and above when fed Plant Food.

Specific to the Chinese version

 * Its seed packet is different: Its apple cores do not go over its seed packet.
 * It reuses A.K.E.E.'s sound during its Plant Food effect.
 * Its Almanac description in the Chinese version says "An apple a day, keeps the zombie away" (每日一苹果，僵尸远离我), which is a parody of "An apple a day, keeps the doctor away."