I have only ever grown two fuchsias, so please pardon my ignorance. I am looking for suggestions to replace one of them, which I'm pretty sure is rootbound (it has been in its pot for 10+ years), and has been declining. My plan is to take it out of its pot and re-pot it, but I also need suggestions to replace it in case it doesn't make it. To my regret I have practically no pictures of it - a very bad one is attached, which was taken by accident - it was in the background of another pic I was taking.

It is growing in a large cylindrical shaped pot (ie round with straight sides) which is 16 inches in diameter and 14 inches high. It sits on the landing of our front stairs, which gets full sun. Right next to where the pot is is a wall which is about 2 1/2 feet high, so the actual pot is shaded from the afternoon sun. To my astonishment, soon after I planted the original one, it grew up about 2 feet, and then leaped over the wall (which is 2 1/2 feet tall on one side, but 10 feet above the ground on the other, as the landing is at the level of the second story) and cascaded down about 5-6 feet towards the ground.

It looked fantastic, and bloomed almost continuously. Our climate is Mediterranean - hot dry summers and cool wet winters. (Right now it has decided to be a desert climate - no rain to speak of for the last 13 months, but that is not normal, and hopefully it will rain some day).

We are zone 9, and this winter we did get below freezing for several nights in a row. When that has happened before, both of my fuchsias have looked dead, but have come back.

So, any recommendations? I want one that has what I think of as "normal" fuchsia flowers, not those teenie tiny or long skinny ones. The most important thing is that it would also cascade down the side of our front stairs - that looked so amazing, and everyone thought I had planned it!

Thank you so much for any ideas you may have - probably folks in this area who grow fuchsias that cascade may have the best experience to help me.

Jackie