get_labels = [] for t in ticklabels: # try calling get_text() to check whether it is Text object # if it is Text, get label content try: get_labels.append(t.get_text()) # otherwise add the label to ...

The obvious work around is to set these parameters after you have called axes.boxplot(). However, reseting the axes is not consistent with axes.plot(), axes.bar(), axes.imshow(), or any other plotting ...