Should auto's be planted into final pots or is a transplant or even two better for healthy root growth? Whatcha all think?

Firstly, any plant (except for some orchids/exotics) should always be planted in opaque pots. Roots need complete darkness for growth and planting in clear plastic pots will hamper root development - roots are, after all, grow underground in complete darkness. When it comes to autos, the recommended procedure is to plant them in their "forever" home and to not transplant them. This is because, no matter how careful you are, the plant can suffer some transplant shock and/or root damage when being re-potted, causing a delay of anywhere from 2-14 days before normal growth resumes, meaning 2-14 days of lost potential best growth. Also, cannabis roots grow incredibly quickly and by having them in large pots from day one means unimpeded root growth, which translates to fastest growth. By now, the roots of your seedlings will be all the way to the bottom of the pots, which means that your plants growth is already slowing down a little due to the halt to downwards progress of the primary roots and the switch to growth of the secondary lateral roots that have gravity working against them. If you are dead set on starting in smaller pots, it is much better to have deep pots rather than wide pots. Filling your pots right up to the top will also provide more room for root growth, the above ground plant can only grow as big as the below ground roots can support it with nutrients and water availability. I have in the past started autos in 4 inch by 5 inch deep pots and rather than transplanting the seedlings, have cut the bottom of the 4 inch pots off and then placed the bottomless pots on top of an 10 inch pot, "double decker" style, allowing the roots from the 4 inch pot to grow into the 10 inch pot without the need to transplant the seedling. Two problems with this method though, the 4 inch pots are ruined forever, and once sitting on top of the bigger pot, they are also fragile and at risk of falling over, therefore requiring some wire pegs to hold the 4 inch pots in place. After 3 weeks or so, the roots grow enough in volume to be able to anchor the smaller pots in place. Burying the 4 inch pots 2-3 inches deep in the soil of the larger 10 inch pots helps stability too. The other problem with this method is that the top 4 inch pot dries out much faster, due to the moisture being literally sucked out of it by the lower pot, making feeding and watering much more complicated than it needs to be. After doing this a few times and getting pretty fed up with it, I went back to starting the seeds in rockwool cubes and planting the sprouted seedling, cube and all, direct into their final pots, and therefore getting rapid unimpeded growth from day one. The "unimpeded" root growth principle is also why plants grown directly in the ground grow so much faster and larger than any plant grown in any sort of container. "container" being an apt description, as that is what happens to the roots - they are "contained" ! For an idea as to my rockwool cube/final pot method, I have posted many pictures of this technique in my diary "cannabis conundrums" week "germination" if you or others reading this may be interested in seeing. I have never had any problems with small seedlings in large pots, they are all originally from growing in the limitless ground and if sensible with watering and feeding, you will not leach out all nutrients before flowering commences, having adult flowering plants will need feeding no matter the size of the pot. I have for the last 20+ years started my seedlings in the 4 inch wide by 5 inch deep round black plastic pots for 3-4 weeks, before they go into their final pots, without any dramas. Hope this helps,........ Organoman.