Defoliating Crabapple

washout03

earlier this year i bought a nice crabapple from a nursery. The problem is it was in a greenhouse so it was already flowering with snow still on the ground. I had to keep it inside until it warmed up. I put it outside when it became consistently 70 degrees outside i figured it was safe to put it outside. False sense of security. About a week after i out it outside, we had a cold snap. It almost looks like the tree went into fall mode. the leaves turned red but none of them ever fell off or even turned brown. This was all about a month ago. Since then a few new leaves have grown, and a few buds have popped out, so the tree is ok. Can i defoliate the tree and let new leaves grow back or is it too late for this year?
Thanks,
Tom

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