The City of Edmonds said Thursday it is temporarily taking down all hanging flower baskets for treatment of a fungal infection.

The entire Puget Sound region is experiencing an outbreak of Botrytis cinerea, commonly known as gray mold, due to extraordinary environmental conditions of heavy rains and cool temperatures, the city said. This has allowed a typically dormant fungus to become active and thrive. It travels quickly through plant material and is found on a wide range of plants. It first appears as white growth on the plant and very soon darkens to a gray color. If untreated, it could kill the flowering plants in the baskets.

Many jurisdictions and private businesses with hanging baskets are managing this current outbreak, the city said in a news release.

To facilitate the application of the fungicide and trim the plants, staff on Thursday and Friday are collecting more than 100 baskets and taking them to the parks department maintenance shop. The baskets are tentatively scheduled to be returned to their hanging locations in a few weeks.

The hanging baskets, which are available for annual adoption, were originally installed on May 14.