Cycads are as old or older than the dinosaurs...nearly 300 million years old. Thriving in the Jurassic Period, cycads dominated the landscape during the time of the dinosaurs. Excellent drainage is the most important requirement for the growth of cycads. Water must never sit around cycad roots. Cycads are gymnosperms along with pines and ginkgoes. Cycad growth is generally slow but some cycads are quick growing and can live to be hundreds of years old. Although sometimes confused with palms, cycads are much more primitive and are evolutionarily very different.