How to look after Fuschia (Ellbelle)

We were given a Fuschia (Ellbelle) in May 2015. The branches come from a single central stem about two feet high. The flowers were lovely. The plant was, and still is, in a pot.

In the autumn 2015 things died down and we were left with the skeleton of the plant, just the brown wood, with its small branches sticking out of the main stem. It really looked rather dead. Then we noticed tiny little green leaves at the top of the plant in the summer of 2016, and nothing in the lower sections.

But I now see (Oct 2016) a fair amount of activity (leaves) at soil level where the plant meets the soil.

Is all well? What should I do to encourage new growth? Does it need to stay its height? Would pruning help and how?

Training a plant to be a ball at the top of a stem is called a 'standard'. You can keep it that way if you want by cutting the new base growth out or if you prefer (or if the top half dies back) and there's growth from the base, you can cut it back and have a shorter plant. If you just let the base growth grow it will make a rather odd shaped bush.

There's a good guide about pruning and over-wintering Fuchsias here - http://www.fuchsiaflower.co.uk/overwintering.htm

It is probably root bound by now.

Root pruning might be in order if you want to keep it in small pot.

Branches will need to be pruned too.