If it's not water permeable, then it will also resist the exchange of soil and atmospheric gases. Sounds like a pretty bad deal to me.

It is not supposed to be. The ad:

Stops weeds
Lets air and water through
Continuous fibers add strength and puncture resistance
Rough surface helps hold mulch in place

For questions about this product please contact 1-800-327-9462

Here is a link that might be useful: Propagating Perennials

That's odd. Why did you use the landscape fabric in a planter - weed control? I would take a photo, yank it out, and return it to the manufacturer, using your photo for evidence if they give you a hard time.

I got a reply from Vigoro. They say that the fabric comes from the factory with a waterproof layer, but the layer breaks apart after it is installed (they call this "breaking the surface tension"). I'll keep a close eye on it for the next few days and see what happens.

Sounds shaky to me. I"ve always resisted putting in weed barrier fabric for the very reason you describe. Surface tension is the physical properties of a liquid... that statement makes no sense to me.