HintText on a non-editable ComboBox

Can I make use of HintText on a non-editable ComboBox in the same way as with editable?

I would expect non-editable ComboBox to show HintText if there is no current selection advising user to take action.

Is this possible? If so, how does one make it work? I would hate to have to reinvent the wheel with custom templates just to achieve this simple functionality.

Thanks!