By Jim McCausland, Sunset Magazine

Question I have some beautiful indoor plants. I'd like to add different colored stripes to the leaves. These are big plants (pretty much trees) with long green leaves. I think it would be a cool art project to paint different colored stripes (one per leaf) on them.

Will this kill the plant?

Any advice on a paint that wouldn't harm it it? I just like art projects and think it would be cool to have different colored stripes on the ordinarily green leaves. Any advice would be helpfull!

Thanks! —Brian

Answer For more than a decade in Europe, and about 5 years in the United States, growers have painted live poinsettias (pictured above) for the Christmas market. They use a proprietary paint formula. But florists also use paint—a lacquer-based spray paint that is widely available—mostly to color cut flowers without damaging them. Sold under the Design Master label, it's also listed for use on foliage. I personally haven't used it, so I can't give you any personal experience that speaks to its performance on live plants over the long haul—but it's promising. Give it a try and send me pictures.

—Jim McCausland