The center of diversity of the apricot is northeastern China near the Russian border .From there it spread west throughout central Asia. Cultivation in China dates back 3000 years. The Romans introduced apricots to Europe in 70-60 BC through Greece and Italy. Apricots probably moved to the US through English settlers on the East Coast, and Spanish Missionaries in California.
For much of their history of cultivation, apricots were grown from seedlings, and few improved cultivars existed until the nineteenth century. Cultivars vary among countries, and in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Syria, a great deal of the production is from seedling orchards.Apricots have been cultivated in Central Asia since antiquity, and dried ones were an important commodity on the Silk Road. Apricots have been cultivated in Persia since antiquity, and dried ones were an important commodity on Persian trade routes. Apricots remain an important fruit in modern-day Iran, where they are known under the common name of zard-ālū (Persian: زردآلو).