Italian cypress in pots?

PlantyPru

I'm looking for something to go in my pots either side of my front door and came across Italian cypress trees which is the look I'd like as come things like Christmas and Halloween I can just wrap some lights round them and make them look pretty. Would they be ok in pots though? I know they grow massive too so how easy are they to keep in check? Anything else I need to know or any other suggestions for something evergreen but not too bushy please?

Obelixx

My neighbour has two of these and they are taller than his 2 storey house by some way.  Confining them to pots would be a form of bonsai and they'd need daily watering in hot spells.   I think you need to find something else that will lend itself better to being confined in a pot and readily topiarised to keep it to a shape and size that suits you.

Irish yew is naturally columnar and accepts pruning.  Picea glauca 'Conica' is a dwarf conifer with a natural cone form so would be easy to keep trimmed.  Ilex crenata 'Sky Pencil' is a naturally columnar form of Japanese holly with small, rounded leaves that would be a good subject.

You could also think laterally and buy  two conical obelisks and grow lovely small-leaved variegated ivy through them. 

Loxley

I think it's viable (I've seen them grown that way, and they look great). I think you'd have to accept they are eventually going to get too tall, but they will take a long time (especially in a pot). In ten years maybe 3-4m? You can't really trim them to keep them smaller. You'd need to repot them into bigger pots as they grow - eventually it would be a very large pot - and keep on top of watering (as with as any container plant).

If they eventually get too big, sell them, they will be worth a fortune...

There are some allegedly smaller clones, e.g. 'Totem'.

You do sometimes see them looking brown and sorry for themselves, I think you'd probably want to avoid drought and poor drainage.