I think you can use that without worrying: Lemon trees have quite hard leaves. They can take it...
They actually like to stand alone so that they can get all the light unhindered. In summer, the branches and twigs should even be thinned out so that there is enough light in the centre. So I would only arrange low shrubs around the trunk area, if at all...
Ok great - good to know, thank you!!!
Oh thank you for this @weisser-rabe! I will definitely do that when the warmer season comes around. As for the shrubs - there is nothing around the bottom of the tree currently, so I think I will just keep it that way and rather opt for other methods to keep the ants off the trunk.
Thank you again for your wisdom xxx