US Plant Patent PP12878
Sweet Crest
Peach tree named: ‘Sweet Crest’
PUBLIC DOMAIN
Patent expired October 23, 2021. This plant is in the public domain — anyone may propagate and sell it.
Twenty years from the filing date would end on April 16, 2021. This patent earned 190 days of term adjustment for delay at the Patent Office, which is why it runs longer.

The record
- Patent number
- PP12878
- Filed
- April 16, 2001
- Granted
- August 27, 2002
- Expires
- October 23, 2021
- Inventor
- ZAIGER CHRIS FLOYD; GARDNER LEITH MARIE; ZAIGER GARY NEIL; ZAIGER GRANT GENE
Abstract
A new and distinct variety of peach tree, ( Prunus persica ). The following features of the tree and its fruit are characterized with the tree budded on ‘Nemaguard’ Rootstock (non-patented), grown on Handford sandy loam soil with Storie Index rating 95, in USDA Hardiness Zone 9, near Modesto, Calif., with standard commercial fruit growing practices, such as pruning, thinning, spraying, irrigation and fertilization. Its novelty consists of the following combination of features that are desirable in a new variety: 1. Heavy and regular production of fruit. 2. Vigorous and upright growth. 3. Early maturity of large, yellow flesh, clingstone fruit. 4. Fruit with a high degree of attractive red skin color. 5. Fruit with a mild, sweet, sub-acidic flavor with very good eating quality.
Show the legal claimThe single numbered claim as granted — the legal text that defines what this patent covers.
We claim: 1. A new and distinct variety of peach tree, substantially as illustrated and described, characterized by its large size, vigorous upright growth; being a productive and regular bearer of large size, yellow flesh, clingstone fruit that has a mild, sweet, sub-acidic flavor with very good eating quality; the fruit is further characterized by its attractive red skin color, firm flesh, good shipping and storage qualities and, in compariosn to the fruit of the ‘Springcrest’ Peach (non-patented), the fruit of the new variety is larger in size, mild, sweet, sub-acidic in flavor instead of acidic and is approximately 4 to 5 days later in maturity.
Read the full patent: US Plant Patent PP12878 in full — the complete specification, every figure, and the file history.