It should be okay, size of pot you'll need eventually depends on the variety you choose. S. confusa gets 5 feet high and wide eventually, and is the only one that doesn't produce suckers. S. ruscifolia makes 4 x 4 feet, and there are a couple of others - S. hookerania var. dignya, a similar size, or S. hookerania var humilis, the smallest at 2 x 2 feet. You'll probably need to repot periodically to stop the plant getting crowded by any suckers it produces (unless you choose S. confusa, the largest). All like partial shade and rich, loamy soil that does not dry out all the time - but that doesn't mean they like to be permanently wet.

My advise is not to try. I have tried three times to grow this plant in a pot and all three came from very reputable sourses and very good plants. They all thrived for about six months then died. I was told......and for the life of me I cannot think whom ....that sarcococcas do not like pots. I love this plant and the scent from the insignificant winter flowers fill the garden with beautiful scent.
Good luck though whatever you decide.

Well that's very odd, Johnp58 - Horticulture Week advises these are good subjects for pot planting, along with The Guardian's gardening page, Dave's Garden and various other sources. I bet they'd be nice either side of a sheltered, shady front door in winter when they're in flower.

Having looked up this information, Arbuthnot, it appears there are new varieties of this plant available, one with pink flowers and red berries, although you need to check that any newer one you buy is actually fragrant and not just slightly fragranced.

Mine is a small one happy in a pot for 18 months but will go into the harden when its bigger. it looks happier since I moved it from full sun to shade - I knew very well it should have gone there in he first place - just wanted the scented flowers on the back doorstep!

Thank you for all the replies. I intend mine to be beside the front door which is north facing so the situation will be OK. Extra thanks to Bamboo for telling me about suckers as the shrub will eventually go into the garden proper.
Looks like Confusa then. Many thanks.

I have one in a pot by my front door . . . it's in a porch, faces SW, and seems to be reasonably happy after ten years.

Ah, after asking my question and reading all the replies, I had made up my mind to get sarcococca confusa because of the suckering of the other varieties but had trouble finding it locally. Still, I could wait - if I wasn't so impatient! I fell prey to an impulse buy of hookeriana Winter Gem.

Thank you everyone anyway. I'll try to curb my impatience in future.

Its a sad fact that these days, you can rarely find what you want at the garden centre - unless its currently in flower. Nearly everything I've needed in the last five years, I've ordered from online nurseries, though of course, its not worth it for just one plant.