Land abandonment is an exceptionally important global change driver in the northern rim of the Mediterranean Basin, since dramatic changes in structure and composition of plant communities have been observed along subsequent secondary succession. Gypsum outcrops of the Iberian Peninsula constitute particular and threatened habitats where secondary succession processes differ from the amelioration mechanism generally described for Mediterranean-type ecosystems, and thus, it seems critical to assess whether succession-related changes may affect the viability of genuine specialists’ populations. In this work we used dendrochronological techniques on the dominant gypsophyte shrubs Helianthemum squamatum and Lepidium subulatum to assess their longevity, population structure, and radial growth along a chronosequence after agriculture abandonment at three similar and nearby-located sites in La Mancha region, central Spain. Cohort-structured populations, resulting from effective recruitment along the first year, were observed in both species. Whereas H. squamatum, a short-lived (up to 10yr) sub-shrub, showed different age structures as a response to varying habitat conditions related to stand age, L. subulatum, a medium-lived (up to 26yr) sub-shrub, showed no differences in demographic parameters among study sites. Radial growth patterns were not affected by time since abandonment in either species.