5 minute freewrite 2637 prompt Did you authorise this?

This is my post for #freewriters 2637 prompt *Did you authorise this? * hosted by @mariannewest

I only have one Rose of Sharon that gives me a double flower. Now that I am wearing my glasses outside, I can see things covering the bark of my plants. It also has Lechins but this looks like sometime in the past it had aphids and they left their poop covering it and the poop has turned into sooty mold.

I did not want to use the hand sanitizer on my only Rose of Sharon of this kind so I asked Google Did you authorize this? in other words, Can I use hand sanitizer to kill lichens and sooty mold? Google said to use a vinegar solution for the sooty mold. I did not have any vinegar and I was leary about using the hand sanitizer so I used dawn dish soap and a scrub brush. I will see in the next few days if the dish soap worked.

To look at it some people might think it is dead but once the lichens and mold are removed and I repot it with fresh soil, it will put out new growth and give me beautiful flowers. If I can remember I will take a picture when it gets its new growth.
photos are mine