QUITO, ECUADOR — FlorEcuador 2012, billed as the largest exhibition of roses in the world, was breathtaking in its grand sweep of stylish displays of roses in the sold-out exhibit hall —models in butterfly costumes fluttering along the aisles; novelty items like multi-colored tinted roses and hit-the-jackpot plants; and fashion shows with stirring music.

And if all that didn’t take your breath away, the altitude would — about three miles above sea level in the majestic Andes Mountains. The show ran Oct. 3-6 at the Cemexpo convention center in Quito, with farm tours, an opening ceremony and an official party. The biennial event drew about 2,000 visitors representing 528 companies from 24 countries and more than 200 exhibitors. The number of buyers attending was up 17 percent, show officials told a news conference.

Journalists who also toured six flower farms prior to and during the show commented on the high fashion on display in the exhibit hall, and on the overwhelming effect of the profusion of exquisite roses. “After this show, you won’t have to see a rose for a month,” quipped Aldo Colombo, publisher of Flortecnica in Lombardy, Italy.

Another attendee, from Holland, unlocked the secret of the multi-colored tinted roses: Divide the stem into several sections, dip each in a different color ink, and let the rose infuse the colors separately into various petals. If the colors are red, white and blue, you have a Fourth of July rose for the U.S. market, he explained.

Lourdes Reyes, marketing director for cut flowers at Ball Horticultural Co., has been attending FlorEcuador since 1999 and exhibits at six shows a year. She rated the 2012 edition an eight on a scale of one to 10, and summed up the pluses and minuses.

“The outstanding feature of the show is the roses,” she said. Drawbacks? “I’d like to see it at another convention center,” she replied.

A new beginning seemed to be a theme of the show. Alejandro Martinez, the new executive chairman and chief staff officer of Expoflores, the flower exporter association and a show sponsor with HPP Exhibitions, had only been on the job for two months. “We are refining details of what will be a repositioning of our flower in the world, a message that makes it unique and memorable,” he told a news conference. Also, he said, he would strengthen the FlorEcuador certification brand.

Gino A. Descalzi, a grower and chairman of the Expoflores board, called for a new beginning in the stalled U.S.-Ecuador trade talks. Later, to underscore that point, he and Mr. Martinez were seen in deep conversation at a table in the exhibit hall with their U.S. counterparts from the Association of Floral Importers of Florida: Victor Giorgini of Equiflor, board chairman, and Christine Boldt, staff director. The U.S.-Ecuador Andean trade agreement expires in July 2013.

Another new beginning is a new airport for Quito, which will be about a dozen miles east of Quito and an hour closer to most growers; have longer runways so planes can take off with full cargo loads, cutting transport costs; and with more efficient facilities to handle flowers while preserving the cold chain. Work on the airport began in 2006, and it is expected to be operational in February 2013. Construction crews were seen working feverishly on roads to the new airport.

The 2014 edition of Flor Ecuador is scheduled to run Oct. 1-4.