how cold did it get.. for how long [your county extension office might know offhand... call them]

research weather underground if you dont know off hand ...

show us some pix of the buds.. if you wish further info

ken

The picture shows cold damage.

It was a very rough winter on gardenias in the mid-Atlantic! Even the so-called 'hardy' ones really got nailed this winter.

Don't know where you live exactly or what zone you are in. But if you are in zone 7, it was likely the winter cold.

Also, try to avoid trimming late in summer as new growth is more tender.

just leave it alone.. and let it do its own thing ...

never fertilize a stressed plant.. and this one is stressed ... [its always the next question]

give it a month or two ... and lets see what happens ...

the future is in the buds... they are either:

dead.. of which i doubt every single bud could be ... so it will bud out.. one way or another ...

or they will flush out properly..

eventually.. the damaged leaves will fall off.. most likely.. when the real heat of summer hits ...

come late summer... we can decide what if any parts are dead.. and prune those back to live wood ...

or.. get rid of them.. because they are so ugly.. you cant stand them.. what i call.. putting them out of MY misery ... but thats a long way off ...

so for now.. observe ... lets try not to love it to death ...

ken