Hot Potato

Hot Potato is the first plant obtained in Frostbite Caves in Plants vs. Zombies 2. It is a single-use plant capable of thawing frozen blocks, freeing whatever zombies or plants trapped in it.

Origins
Hot Potato is based on the real life potato, the starchy, tuberous root portion of the plant Solanum tuberosum. The term "hot potato" refers to a children's game in which players attempt to pass an object to each other while music plays, in an attempt to not be the one holding the object when the music suddenly stops.

Almanac entry
Sun cost : 0

RECHARGE: Mediocre

Hot Potatoes melt the ice blocks they're planted on.

Usage: single use

Special: melts an ice block

How does Hot Potato stay so positive and even-peeled all the time? Yoga, that's how. She never misses a class. Also, regular meditation. It's the only way she can handle the hard work of fighting zombies, day in and day out, without melting down.

Strategies
Hot Potato will be the first thawing option that is from Frostbite Caves available to the player. On earlier levels in Frostbite Caves, it will prove sufficient, as it can thaw single plants significantly faster than other warming plants and there is little pressure from the wind and Hunter Zombies. However, it is incapable of preventing plants from freezing in the first place, and its status as an instant plant means that it will be quickly overwhelmed in later levels and in the world's Endless Zone, Icebound Battleground.

In Special Delivery levels, try to save Hot Potatoes given to melt down important plants, such as heavy damage plants like Repeater and Bonk Choy. Avoid using Hot Potatoes on plants adjacent to a Pepper-pult, as Pepper-pult already has the ability to melt frozen plants.

Another thing to remember is that Hot Potato can also thaws blocks with encased zombies. This makes Hot Potato a useful plant against the frozen Yeti Imps pushed by Troglobites and Zombot Tuskmaster 10,000 BC's ice barrier. It is recommended that the player only thaws zombie when sufficient firepower is present - a Weasel Hoarder freed at the wrong moment can quickly overrun the player's defense.

Trivia

 * When thawing a plant, it lets out a deep sigh, and steam from melting ice block rises up.
 * It is the fifth plant based on the potato plant in the entire series. The others are Potato Mine, Imitater, Sweet Potato, Potato Nugget Mine, and Primal Potato Mine.
 * Sun-shroom, Sun Bean, Lightning Reed, and Hot Potato are the only plants which have a glow around them on their seed packet.
 * Hot Potato, Iceberg Lettuce, and Grave Buster are the free plants that can be used in certain Last Stand levels.
 * Hot Potato, Lily Pad, Tangle Kelp, Gold Leaf, Thyme Warp, and Perfume-shroom are the only plants selectable only in the worlds they are obtained in.
 * Hot Potato, Perfume-shroom, and Lily Pad are currently the only plants without Endless Zone cards. This is due to the fact that the player will start their respective Endless Zones with those plants, and other Endless Zones that don't start the player with any of those plants do not allow them.