@andrew I have been growing trees in pots for a number of years——not only bonsai trees, but regular-sized trees too. I have a French Lilac in a pot, as well as a Rowan Tree (Sorbus), a Tamarack (Larix), a Colorado Blue Spruce, and a Japanese Larch. The biggest, the Japanese Larch, is about 10 feet tall, and it has been growing beautifully in a large ceramic pot for the past 5 years. I love larches, because they are one of the few conifers (cone-bearing trees like spruces, pines), that lose their needles in the fall. In the fall they turn a beautiful golden yellow, and in the spring they bud out with nice fresh green soft needles. The bark is rugged, and the tree is fully hardy, withstanding both cold and heat. In winter they need a rest, so I keep the tree in an unheated garage. I water them well in the late spring, to make sure the soil is frozen solid heading into winter. You can grow almost any kind of tree in a pot, as long as the pot is big enough, and you tend to its watering needs carefully, especially during the hot summer. If you live in a cold area, you will have to overwinter them in a cold but sheltered spot, like an unheated garage. If you live in a warm place, you can grow trees in pots indefinitely.
To answer your second question, yes you can grow it from a clipping, but you will have to make it “root” first, by dipping it in rooting hormone powder and burying it in moist warm sand. It will take awhile, even after rooting, for the tree to mature, a few years. The better thing to do is to buy a new small tree and plant it in the biggest pot you can get. Small trees are adaptable to new conditions, and will usually grow much more quickly than either clippings or mature trees.