diff --git a/gsk/gskrendernode.c b/gsk/gskrendernode.c
index 9fe76d64f7..5f16bfd638 100644
--- a/gsk/gskrendernode.c
+++ b/gsk/gskrendernode.c
@@ -144,6 +144,8 @@ gsk_render_node_finalize (GskRenderNode *self)
 {
   GskRenderNodeIter iter;
 
+  self->is_mutable = TRUE;
+
   gsk_render_node_iter_init (&iter, self);
   while (gsk_render_node_iter_next (&iter, NULL))
     gsk_render_node_iter_remove (&iter);