Tap roots showing....transplant??

I have a 3 1/2 week old plant in a 2 gallon pot. The tap roots are starting to poke out the holes in bottom of pot. If I wanted to keep my plants small, and keep them in the same pot right through flowering. Would this damage the plant ? I understand the yield will be smaller if i don't transplant. But will the plant stay small and healthy in the pot its currently in with tap roots poking out? thanks for any info on the subject!

You can probably leave it. Pull it out real fast and check the side roots. If it is cramped get a new pot, otherwise it is fine.

Wow if you have a 3 1/2 week old plant outgrowing a 2 gallon container I would say that is very unusual. I would say you have some side roots which are spreading out rapidly but you won't be close to having any root problems this early in the game.

so it is normal to have root showing out the bottom of pot? Is it just the plant finding its boundaries? As long as this causes no damage to my plant I'd rather keep it in the smaller pot.

Keep her watered and fed and it doesn't matter the pot size, she will live and flourish. Don't get me wrong, as the old saying goes "The bigger the pot, the bigger the pot", but I've seen monsters growing in 2 gal containers. You just have to water and feed more often.

3 gallons is fine, especially in any smart pot variety and even a plastic pot will have no problem getting 2-4 ft in that size