not a bad idea, but I forgot to mention, a few weeks back there was actual fruit starting to form. I snipped them off. My thinking is that there is no way that fruit will make it through the winter and it's a waste of the tree's energy.

My citrus in the north bay always have their first growth flush of the year in February. Don’t worry about it. It wants to grow so let it. Rarely the temperatures will get low enough to damage the leaves however this has only happened once to me in the last 10 years.

-Brett

Obviously I can't grow citrus but I don't imagine any reason to interfere with the tree. As Embothrium said, if the fruit/flowers/leaves get frosted the tree will jettison them by itself.

How often do you water your young lemon tree based on your area. Summer time. Thank you.

regarding watering, it's an orange tree (not lemon), but I water about once a week unless it's a heat wave, then about twice a week. I think as the tree ages and the roots go deeper it probably is more tolerant, but while it's young I'm pretty careful. I have a well around it that I've increased the size of as the tree grows. I also put mulch on the ground to prevent the soil from drying out. I never thought I could grow oranges here near the coast, fog and all, but it's a very protected spot in the yard that gets a lot of sun (when it's sunny) and the air is relatively still. The oranges are medium size so far, but taste great - on the tart side. I'm really surprised how well this tree is doing!

citrus is self thinning, they will drop fruit they can't hold.

In addition to time of year frequency of watering individual plants always varies with specific circumstances including growth stage, atmospheric humidity and soil texture. How often somebody in a different place with different conditions waters may have little relevance to what needs to be done with another specimen located elsewhere.