diff --git a/common/oftree.c b/common/oftree.c
index 09cb660..36906e8 100644
--- a/common/oftree.c
+++ b/common/oftree.c
@@ -151,6 +151,10 @@
 	if (!str)
 		return 0;
 
+	str = skip_spaces(str);
+	if (strlen(str) == 0)
+		return 0;
+
 	node = of_create_node(root, "/chosen");
 	if (!node)
 		return -ENOMEM;