Lord Bamboo

你会说中文吗？

This article is about content available solely in the People's Republic of China.

Lord Bamboo (竹员外; pinyin: zhú yuánwài) is a plant in the Chinese version of Plants vs. Zombies 2. He explodes the first zombie on contact, killing both himself and the zombie(s) in his area similar to Potato Mine. He was a plant introduced to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

To unlock this plant, the player could open red packets for Chinese New Year event 2015 and 2016, which were obtained from Gods of Wealth, or by spending diamonds. To get both him and his costume, the player would have to answer nine questions correctly in the quiz game mode. An alternative method was to get a Puzzle Piece for him via Penny's Treasures.

Origins

He resembles Chinese firecrackers (爆竹, which are actually explosive bamboo).

Almanac entry

竹员外 Lord Bamboo	TOUGHNESS Typical RECHARGE Fast
	竹员外能对接近的僵尸造成爆炸伤害。 植物特征：绿色植物 竹员外一个人住在烟花镇西边的一所大宅子里，别看他面向凶恶，其实他是一个喜欢小孩子的和善老头。每到过年的时候他都会给镇上的小孩子送鞭炮和烟花，希望他们能开开心心地过新年。而他最大的愿望，是希望他在远方学艺的孙子竹笋有一天能踩着鞭炮的碎屑敲响这座宅子的大门……

Upgrades

Plant Food effect

When fed Plant Food, Lord Bamboo will release a "carpet" of firecrackers on his lane, which will detonate shortly, killing or damaging the zombies stepping on it.

Costumed

With his costume, after feeding with Plant Food, the zombies that are damaged by the carpet will be bounced, and they cannot move for a short time. Useful if zombies are getting too close.

Level upgrades

Level	Upgrades	Description
	Secondly Explode	Makes Lord Bamboo able to fall to a single tile after exploding, causing massive damage and charring zombies.
	Combat Training	Lord Bamboo gains 50% more attack power and health (150% of initial).
	Multi-Explode	Makes Lord Bamboo split into two pieces while falling, damaging an extra tile.
	Cell Activation	Lord Bamboo gains another 50% more attack power and health (200% of initial).
	Ability Awaken	Lord Bamboo may be boosted when planted.
	Fighting Power	Lord Bamboo gains another 50% more attack power and health (250% of initial).
	Rotating Fireworks	Lord Bamboo has a chance to damage nearby zombies with rotating fireworks.
	Fighting Power	Lord Bamboo gains another 50% more attack power and health (300% of initial).

Strategies

Treat Lord Bamboo as how you normally treat Squash. However, Lord Bamboo has a weakness of being unable to attack zombies who stand on two tiles, with the bamboo at the front tile. When one is put into that situation, chances are he will explode without damaging the zombie or be eaten without having the zombie exploded also. He is also weak to Mecha-Football Zombie since they push plants while being just outside Lord Bamboo's trigger area. Since the explosion is considered fire damage, Lord Bamboo should also not be used on zombies that are frozen and will survive the attack or release their payloads, such as Gargantuar, a leveled-up Knight Zombie or Chicken Wrangler Zombie.

However, he has a faster recharge than Squash, making him more useful against a leveled up zombies like Knight Zombies.

Gallery

Plants vs. Zombies Wiki has a gallery for Lord Bamboo.

Visit this page to see it.

Trivia

• According to his Almanac entry, Bamboo-shoot is his grandson.
• His background in the Almanac is Big Wave Beach, even though he is not obtained in that world.
  • Sap-fling and Ghost Pepper also share this trait in the Chinese version.
• His idle animation resembles the one used for Pomegunate.
• He cannot be triggered by zombies that do not need to get close to damage the plant, like Gargantuar, Barrel Roller Zombie's barrel, Robo-Cone Zombie. However, if the player plants Lord Bamboo directly under those zombies, they can be damaged by Lord Bamboo.
• A zombie who collides with Lord Bamboo but stands far enough can eat the plant without suffering from the latter's explosion.
• He bears a resemblance to Magic Beanstalk from Plants vs. Zombies Heroes, though this is only a coincidence.