Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow Thursday, traditionally meaning another six weeks of winter.

Alabama, however, has experienced a winter like no other. In addition to an unusually wet season, a combination of a La Nina pattern and positive North Atlantic Oscillation phases have also kept cold temperatures in Canada, bringing spring-like temperatures to southern states.

The soggy winter has also fooled certain plants and animals into thinking spring has sprung. Tim Harper of White Dove Nursery said he’s noticed plants beginning to bud, which means more work because they have to be trimmed back.

The nursery keeps many container plants covered as a means of protection and will cut holes in the plastic to let heat escape, as it gets closer to spring.

“I’ve noticed in my yard, my boxwoods are flushing,” he said. “It’s just nature’s cycle and it’s normal.”

Chris Becker, regional extension agent for home grounds, gardens and home pests, said he’s had calls from people asking if it’s too early to begin a variety of gardening tasks.

“Absolutely it is,” he said. “We’ve had a mild winter, but it’s not over yet. We’ll still get a frost and hard freeze between now and (the end of winter).”

Becker said the worst mistake landscapers can make now is to prune shrubs and trees. He said it’s also too early to begin working in a vegetable garden unless performing soil tests or adding compost.

“Stay out of the garden until after you do your taxes,” he said.

The biggest impact from the mild winter will be on fruit trees. A late cold snap could prove devastating to the area’s peach crop, depending on the variety of peach tree.

“One guy told me he’s seen buds opening on his peach trees, and that’s not good at all. He’s guaranteed to not have a peach crop this year,” Becker said. “One way you can prevent that is to make sure you choose the right peach trees for this climate. Plant selection is important.”

Those who are concerned about the fate of their fruit trees can try to cover them, but he said there’s no guarantee that would work. Flowers like pansies and violas won’t likely be affected unless there is a prolonged cold snap.

“You may lose some blooms, but if you’re comparing that to a fruit grower’s harvest and profit, flowers don’t really matter,” Becker said. “For fruit growers, (the mild winter) will have a huge impact.”

Officials at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens are also keeping a close watch on the mild winter with hopes that plants survive for public enjoyment. Harvey Cotten, vice president and chief horticulturalist, said he was “worried to death” that plants might soon begin to bud.

“A couple of weeks ago, I looked back at our records and we had been below 20 degrees only once this winter, whereas typically we would have had at least one day between zero and 10 degrees,” he said. “Our low temperatures at night aren’t going below 50 and that will signal to the plants that springtime is coming. The buds will swell and start to leaf out.”

He said if nighttime temperatures continue to be in the 50s, plants will come out of dormancy. Like Becker, he’s particularly worried about the peach crop.

“There’s nothing you can do about it because we can’t stop the temperatures,” Cotten said. “There are some things we can protect, but there’s no way to stop the plants from leafing out.”

Keith Hudson, a wildlife biologist with the Alabama Division of Conservation and Natural Resources, said some larger trees are beginning to bud out early, which could lead to a brown spring and summer if a cold snap arrives. He said the region experienced a similar situation in April 2007 in which trees budded early and cold spell killed green leaves on trees.

“I can remember driving from Huntsville to Scottsboro that spring and seeing a brown line of trees at a certain elevation,” he said. “That really affected wildlife because it killed some of the flowers that would make hard fruits like hickory nuts and acorns and soft fruits, too.”

The mild winter has also affected the area’s wildlife population. Hudson said there are fewer overwintering waterfowl like ducks, geese and pelicans because it hasn’t been as cold up north. Other birds, like whooping cranes and doves, are also holding north of their normal winter range.

“As far as birds nesting early, I haven’t seen that, but they are beginning to sing a little early,” he said. “I have also noticed a lot of frogs beginning to call, which is not uncommon when you have warm winter nights.”

The combination of warmer temperatures and wet weather could also lead to an increase in unwanted pests like mosquitoes. Hudson said the heavy rains could have also dislodged snakes from their winter habitats, meaning they are now looking for refuge in new locations.

Brush piles left behind by the April 27 tornadoes could be ideal habitats for snakes and other wildlife that prefer a thicket habitat as opposed to an overforest hardwood canopy habitat.

“The tornadoes knocking down all that timber means the deer (population) will explode,” Hudson said. “(Debris piles) have made acres and acres of good deer habitat.”