diff --git a/src/textual/widgets/_directory_tree.py b/src/textual/widgets/_directory_tree.py
index e6b81abee..c0bb2c505 100644
--- a/src/textual/widgets/_directory_tree.py
+++ b/src/textual/widgets/_directory_tree.py
@@ -271,6 +271,7 @@ class DirectoryTree(Tree[DirEntry]):
             node: The Tree node to populate.
             content: The collection of `Path` objects to populate the node with.
         """
+        node.remove_children()
         for path in content:
             node.add(
                 path.name,