Hack fix for BUG - GH24784
- [X] closes #24784 
- [X] tests added / passed - 1
- [ ] passes `black pandas`
- [ ] passes `git diff upstream/master -u -- "*.py" | flake8 --diff`
- [X] whatsnew entry - Test utility method "_check_plot_works_with_continuous_dates"  and Test case "test_continuous_dates"
