diff --git a/src/ScintillaNET/Line.cs b/src/ScintillaNET/Line.cs
index e8d4821..5aa63df 100644
--- a/src/ScintillaNET/Line.cs
+++ b/src/ScintillaNET/Line.cs
@@ -279,10 +279,11 @@ public unsafe string AnnotationText
             }
             set
             {
-                if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(value))
+                // allow empty annotation, set to null to remove
+                if (value == null)
                 {
                     // Scintilla docs suggest that setting to NULL rather than an empty string will free memory
-                    scintilla.DirectMessage(NativeMethods.SCI_ANNOTATIONGETTEXT, new IntPtr(Index), IntPtr.Zero);
+                    scintilla.DirectMessage(NativeMethods.SCI_ANNOTATIONSETTEXT, new IntPtr(Index), IntPtr.Zero);
                 }
                 else
                 {