"Paul Kaye" wrote..

I'm really not a big gardener so excuse me if this question has a
simple or obvious answer! I have a mini lemon tree (I've asked about
its fruit previously) growing in a pot. This summer I was away for two
weeks and my wife forgot to water it! The result seems to be that the
top section has died or has been 'cut off' by the tree to conserve
water. As you will see in the photographs, there are no fruit or
leaves above a certain point. Additionally, I think the bark has a
reddish tint at and above the cutoff point (see close-up photo; arrow
indicates cutoff point).

Photos:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree1.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree2.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree3.jpg

Could this be caused by two weeks without water in a hot climate
(Israel; ~30°C)?
Could the pot be too small?
Will the upper area recover next spring?
What should I do?

Many thanks in advance for your time,

Looking at the photo, that top bit looks decidedly dead to me. You could
leave it to see what happens but I don't hold out much hope. If dead it will
not recover, you simply cut it off just above where it turns back to green.
My experience is that they just start to grow again and quite shortly you
won't even notice the damage.
Yes it certainly could be caused by 2 weeks without water at that temp. I've
had the same here with some smaller trees after a couple of weeks without
water at a lower temperature.
Pot looks OK although to some extent the bigger the better, does the actual
pot receive any sun if so the roots will suffer in your climate and it might
be an idea to shade the pot.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
just W. of London