How Long?

I brought home for repotting a number of African violets that had gotten very long necks, and were starting to bend over. In a fit of absent-mindedness I left three of them in the basement (without light or water) for several (three?) weeks. When I finally discovered them last week while I was making preparations to propogate some Gloxinia, the soil was dry, but they looked OK. Probably at least partly because my wife keeps the heat fairly low during the day to keep herself from drying out.