Hi John,
They don't know where they are. They just know how warm the soil and air around them is, and once their leaves are above ground, how much water and light ( = sugar, = building blocks and a fuel if you're a plant) is available.
Depending on how they deal with unseasonable weather when they're supposed to be growing, they may fare better or worse. To them, the re-onset of winter will be like having gotten started late in summer and getting frozen up early.
Again, they don't know where or when they are. They just know temperature, light, water, nutrients, and their fungal/bacterial friends and enemies.
As of Sun, 16 Jan 2022 17:29:25 -0500, > On the 10th of January I did a quick survey of my beds while strolling
down the walk toward the mailbox. I noted that narcissi, crocus, and
> what I took to be a stray tulip or three were breaking ground and up to
> a hand's breadth high. Hyacinth are nosing through the mulch. One lone
> yellow crocus and a few creeping phlox and dianthus were in bloom. Don't
> they know that this is the middle of the bloody winter? A week ago there
> were a few blooms on an azalea at the end of the drive. This is
> happening in central East Tennessee, not the tropics. How are plants
> supposed to survive this sort of confusion?