import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import matplotlib.ticker as ticker
x = [0,5,9,10,15]
y = [0,1,2,3,4]
fig, ax = plt.subplots()
ax.plot(x,y)
start, end = ax.get_xlim()
ax.set_xticks(np.arange(start, end, 2))
plt.show()
# Get the current axis
ax = plt.gca()
# Only label every 20 th value
ticks_to_use = df.index[::20]
# Set format of labels(note year not excluded as requested)
labels = [i.strftime("%-H:%M") for i in ticks_to_use]
# Now set the ticks and labels
ax.set_xticks(ticks_to_use)
ax.set_xticklabels(labels)