In 1720 British explorers George Vancouver found that the apricot growing in Spanish mission gardens of Santa Clara.
Thomas Jefferson set out apricot trees in his orchard at Monticello as early as 1778. The first major production of apricots in the United States was recorded in California in 1792.
After the gold rush, the world’s largest apricot industry developed in areas relatively free of spring frosts, which is the limiting factors for commercial production east of the Rockies.
By 1920 apricot production was a major industry in California. California continues to be leading apricot producing state in the United States.
California produces about 90 percent of all apricots grown in the United States. Only 10 percent is sold fresh since the fruit does not hold up well after it is picked.
History of apricot in United States
