Objective  Variations in color and pigments on leaves of ornamental crabapple germplasms in season were used to classify the plants for establishing an evaluation system for landscaping.

  Method  Luminosity L*, saturation C*, and hue angle h° as well as pigments in the upper, middle, and lower parts of the leaf of 48 ornamental crabapple germplasms were measured using a colorimeter and a spectrometer.

  Results  ① The color measurements on all crabapple varieties in June distributed in the CIELCH space more concentrated in the upper part and gradually lessened toward the lower part of a leaf. The color was richer and the loci more scattered in the upper part as well. ② The relative contents of anthocyanin and carotenoid decreased, but that of chlorophyll increased, from the upper to the lower leaf. ③ The germplasms clustered by leaf color were classified into the green Group A that included bright green A₁ and dark green A₂, the brown Group B, and the red Group C that included reddish brown C₁ and reddish purple C₂.

  Conclusion  Of all crabapple groups, Group A₁ had a high relative chlorophyll content displaying bright green foliage; Group B had significantly varied color measurements and a significantly higher carotenoids content than the other groups making it suitable for breeding programs; and Group C₁ had a high anthocyanin to chlorophyll ratio of （1.22±0.24） and an h° of (29.74±4.74)° rendering it the choice of a showy red-leaf crabapple variety.